Father Charles Nerinckx (1761-1824)

Today in 1824 marks the death of Father Charles Nerinckx, a Dutch missionary in early America. Born in the Netherlands, he was ordained in 1785. During the French Revolution, as the revolutionary regime cracked down on the Church, Nerinckx was one of many priests forced to go into hiding. He decided to become a missionary to the United States, where he arrived in 1804. After a year of language immersion, he was sent to Kentucky. During his nineteen years there he built fourteen churches. He was a leading force in the creation of the nation’s first group of women religious, the Sisters of Loretto. He made also tried to found communities for men and for African-American women, albeit unsuccessfully. At the time of his death, he had hoped to begin work with Native Americans.