Places: Sacred Heart Retreat, Louisville, Kentucky

Sacred Heart Retreat, attached to St. Agnes Catholic Church, bounded by U of L Health Peace Hosiptal (formerly, Our Lady of Peace) to the south, St. Agnes Catholic School to the north and behind it, Calvary Cemetery andnorthwest of Bellarmine University (formerly Bellarmine College). [There is a Google Map and the bottom of this page.]. This was to be our home for our college education. The superiors of Holy Cross Province had decided to partner with Bellarmine College so that all future professed would have an accredited degree. Both instituions shared faculty and we students took classes both in the monastery and on the Bellarmine campus.

We students were housed in rooms on the second and third floors. The U-shaped stucture enclosed a large grassy with a number of lounge shairs dotting it.area Because of the number of newly-professed, these rooms were equipped with bunk beds, a desk and standing closet. Mine looked out on St. Agnes School. The chapel was located on the north wing of the u-shaped structure, right above the refectory (dining area). A portico was later built enclosing the external walkway on the first floor.

Bellarmine had opened its doors in the late 1950s and by the mid 1960s, was a thriving campus with a main admin building, a sciences building, a 9-hole golf course, and newly-opened Kinghts Hall for athletics. Classes in the monastery were usually held after relisious services. We would then shed our habits and don our white shirts, thin black ties, and black slacks for the half-mile trek to the Bellarmine campus. When classes were over, it was back to the monastery, some relisious service once again, then recreation time.

The center point of our recreation was affectionately known as "The Barn". In its previous life, it was exactly that. It had been remodeled in its present form with open conversation areas on the first floor. A spiral staircase in the back went into the hayloft and served as a media center, though we didn't have such a phrase back then.

Sacred Heart Monastery has become a retirement center today [2021]. As the community ages there comes the need for special services related to this aging population. A booklet has been created describing this. Click here for a PDF download.

Here are a few pictures reminiscent of those days. Click on the picture to enlarge it. Use your browser's Back button or arrow to return to this page.