Bishop Ignatius A. Reynolds (1844-1855)
Ignatius A. Reynolds was born in Bardstown, Kentucky, in 1798 to John Reynolds and Ann French. He was ordained a priest in 1823 in Baltimore, Maryland. Reynolds was a professor in the seminary in Bardstown, St. Joseph’s College, and in 1827 became the seminary president. He also served as rector of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, pastor of St. Louis Church (site of the present Cathedral) in Louisville, Kentucky, and vicar general of the Diocese of Bardstown. In 1843, Reynolds was appointed bishop of Charleston and was installed in 1844. Bishop Reynolds died in 1855.
One of Reynolds’ greatest accomplishments was bringing stability to the administrative side of the diocese. He petitioned the Holy See to reduce diocesan territory and collected subscriptions for the publication of John England’s writing. These strategies helped decrease the diocesan debt from $34,000 to $5,000.