St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows

The church known as St. Mary's of the Seven Sorrows was completed in 1847, and it is the oldest standing church structure in downtown Nashville. It also serves as one of the first Catholic Church buildings in Tennessee. Richard Pius Miles, the first Catholic Bishop of Nashville, bought the plot where the church now sits, and he raised money for its construction. When he died in 1860, he was buried under the church, though his body was later moved to a side chapel. St. Mary’s was designed in a Greek Revival style by architect Adolphus Heiman, a German immigrant who would later fight for the Confederacy. It was the last church building in Nashville to be converted into a hospital during the Civil War. Not until the Battle of Nashville in December of 1864 did St. Mary’s suspend services. During its time as a Union hospital, approximately three hundred soldiers died inside this building. 

Early in the war, Union General Rosecrans relocated Father Emmeran Bliemel, who was a priest in another local Catholic church, to the parish house at St. Mary’s. Most likely, he was moved there because the Union army’s leadership wanted to keep a close eye on Bliemel, who was a sympathizer of the Confederacy. He continued to preach but was arrested on December 11, 1862. Father Bliemel was arrested when he was found with morphine, which Union officials suspected he was smuggling to Confederates. When he denied what was called “treasonable conduct,” General Rosecrans dismissed the case. 

Morphine became a common means of relieving pain after a German pharmacist isolated a certain part of the natural opium plant in 1804. Morphine use grew exponentially when the hypodermic needle was invented in 1853. In some ways it was an amazing medical breakthrough, allowing doctors to control their patients’ pain. However, morphine addiction contributed to a widespread opium addiction in the years following the war. While doctors had yet to discover antibiotics or the existence of germs, the Civil War doctors did use new innovations in prosthetics to improve long-term prognosis for soldiers wounded during the Civil War.

In 1926, St. Mary’s was renovated by the Asmus and Clark architecture firm; they added the limestone facing that now covers the original brick, and altered the tower and the interior. For more information about St. Mary’s of the Seven Sorrows, refer to the Old Time Religion tour.

Continue south as you walk down Fifth Avenue toward Broadway. When you reach Union Street, turn LEFT, then continue to Fourth Avenue and turn RIGHT. On your right you will pass a brown Civil War Walking Tour sign. This marks the site of Judge John Catron’s house. He served as associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1837 until his death in 1865. Continue down Fourth Avenue. You will find the next stop on your right, at the corner of Fourth and Church Street.