White Paper

Creation of a Shrine to Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa
&
The Catholic Appalachian Pilgrimage Trail (CAP-T)

Introduction
Engineers are trained to use a simple three-step approach of Given, Find, Know to determine the solution for any problem, where Given is the problem, Find is the solution, and Know is the entirety of facts, conditions and universal truths available to the person trying to solve the problem. Once this set of boundary conditions has been defined, then the vision can be cast, a strategy developed and a logical set of tasks applied to achieve the desired result.
Utilizing this approach to analyze the intersection of Central Appalachia and Catholicism, and how each would benefit from a better understanding of the other, is a worthwhile exercise. Such an exercise might be outlined as follows:

Given
Studies show that Eastern Kentucky is part of one of the poorest regions in the United States. This area, along with Southwest Virginia, Southern West Virginia, and Northeast Tennessee comprises the Central Appalachian region. Catholicism in the region, never really having taken root in the Appalachian culture, is now in decline, presenting a financial and administrative challenge due to the scarce resources of the Dioceses of Lexington, Richmond, Wheeling, and Knoxville. The collapse of the coal economy in this region has caused a decline in higher-wage jobs and an outmigration of younger families primarily due to economic necessity. As a result, societal metrics for drug abuse, child and spousal abuse, homelessness and other related health issues have increased dramatically. 

Find
What can the church do, given current realities, to better evangelize this population; support sustainable missions, parishes and schools; facilitate greater understanding between people living inside and outside the region; revitalize our laity, especially our youth; grow our membership and minister to the people of this region?

Know
Appalachia
Central Appalachia is not a monolithic culture; it has distinct though sometimes nuanced subcultures influenced by such factors as state boundaries, topography, watersheds, structural geology and cultural legacies. To many unfamiliar with these subtle differences, the culture may look the same across the region. This lack of understanding is one reason many well-intentioned efforts to evangelize or alleviate poverty have failed to gain traction. This unique Appalachian culture is often negatively represented in mainstream media, and as a result poorly understood or appreciated by most people outside the region. Similarly, Catholicism is often negatively portrayed by the media and therefore often misunderstood or appreciated by many of the people of Appalachia.

Appalachian Catholicism
The Catholic Church has ministered to this region for over 100 years, serving mostly in coal camps with populations of Catholic immigrants who migrated primarily from European countries and were seeking the new jobs created by the early development of the coal industry. While making some inroads with the locals, the Church has not had widespread success attracting membership from the first settlers of Appalachia whose ancestry is predominantly Irish or English. The majority of the people of Appalachia claim no affiliation to any denomination; however, while not attending any church regularly, the majority still retains a strong Judeo-Christian ethic. The number of Catholics in Appalachia has decreased over time.

Coal Camps
Appalachia is dotted with small towns originally built to house the workforce needed to provide the labor to extract coal and provide all of the auxiliary services required by that workforce. These towns have been steadily in decline since the end of the coal camp era, which had almost totally ended by 1960 with a few exceptions. Many of these towns still remain, with some degree of preservation taking place in many of them. Most of these towns have or had a Catholic church and many Catholic heritage sites exist across Central Appalachia.

Jenkins
First incorporated in 1912 with a current population of approximately 2,000, the town of Jenkins is located in Letcher County, Kentucky. Jenkins was one of the larger coal camps in Kentucky with a population in excess of 10,000 residents at its peak. 

Saint George Catholic Church
Established in 1914, St. George is a small church that is still actively serving approximately 25 parishioners in the Jenkins community.

The Tunnel
To facilitate the export of coal from the town of Jenkins to southern markets, a mile-long tunnel was constructed through Pine Mountain in the 1940s, crossing the state line from Virginia to Kentucky.  The Kentucky entrance to this tunnel is located across the valley above Saint George. This tunnel was later abandoned and is owned by a local coal company that is now in bankruptcy. 

Mother Teresa
In 1950, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation that had over 4,500 nuns and was active in 133 countries in 2012. The congregation manages homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis. It also runs soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, and children’s and family counseling programs, as well as orphanages and schools. Members take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, and also profess a fourth vow—to give “wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor.” Letters from Mother Teresa state that she had been afflicted with a deep sense of God’s absence for the last half-century of her life. Separating her emotions from her faith, she continued diligently with her work, referring to this period of her life as “The Darkness.” 

In 1982, Mother Teresa of Calcutta established her order’s first rural convent at Jenkins in Eastern Kentucky; the Missionaries of Charity have carried on her work of serving the poor, the sick and the aging in the mountain community. 

During her visits to Jenkins, Mother Teresa prayed and attended mass at Saint George in Jenkins, where she formed a friendship with the Parish Priest Father Randall who was himself a much-loved and respected figure in the Jenkins community.

Mother Teresa passed away on September 5, 1997 and was canonized a saint by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016. Since her death her order has created a traveling exhibit known as the Blessed Mother Teresa Exhibit of Love and Mercy.

The Vision
The Shrine and Pilgrimage

Saint George Church, where a well-known modern saint prayed and received the sacraments, is a logical location for the creation of a shrine. Reconditioned, the abandoned tunnel could represent “The Darkness” and provide a physical reminder to pilgrims journeying to trust in God that there is light on the other side. Upon exiting the tunnel the pilgrim will see not only the light but Saint George Church, where a saint just like them kept the faith.  

Positioned in the heart of Central Appalachia, the site will become a bucket list item for those residing outside the region due to its great natural beauty combined with an external fascination with the local culture  and a love of Saint Teresa. At this time there is no national shrine to Saint Teresa. If created and supported, the opportunity to have this shrine designated a National Shrine is obvious.

The impact of the shrine could be magnified with the addition of various digitally-guided pilgrimage journeys and treks weaving across Central Appalachian Catholic heritage sites, always leading pilgrims to Saint George Church. This could be through the creation of a GPS-based way-finding app that simultaneously provides narrative and guidance to points of interest along the pilgrimage journey. Jenkins is located within one day’s drive of a huge Catholic population, and each year millions of Catholics go on pilgrimage worldwide. For example, attendance to the Ark – a non-Catholic biblically-based tourist exhibit in Grant County, Kentucky – was over 800,000 last year.

Benefits
The opportunity for devout Catholics to interact with locals will be a huge boost to evangelization and have a tremendous potential for positive impact on all parties. The Central Appalachian Catholic Diaspora, especially our youth, needs somewhere they can plug in and reconnect with their place and their faith. Service projects for our younger membership around the mapping, documentation and preservation of Catholic Heritage sites is a way for this to happen. Another indirect benefit of the creation of this shrine and pilgrimage is to bridge the disconnect between the urban and rural portions of our Diocese. Revenues derived from donations and other interactions of the pilgrims would support the Central Appalachian churches, schools, missions and other worthwhile efforts that promote the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical welfare of the people, while simultaneously elevating the profile of Catholic charitable and evangelical efforts. 

Support
Securing partners for this project will not be difficult. In fact, the argument could be made that the challenge for this project will be how to manage and channel this support in ways that are both pleasing to God and focused on the objective. 

Her Order
Mother Teresa’s successor Sister Prema (Sister Mary Prema Pierick) has offered her blessing and the support of her order in the establishment of a shrine to Saint Teresa at Saint George Church in Jenkins. She has pledged relics and making Saint George the permanent residence of the Blessed Mother Teresa Exhibit of Love and Mercy.

Lexington Diocese
Bishop John Stowe has offered his blessing and the support of the diocese for the establishment of a shrine to Saint Teresa at Saint George Church in Jenkins. Before becoming the Bishop of Lexington, Father John served at a National Shrine in Ohio.

American Hindus
As a result of her service to the people of India, Mother Teresa is typically revered by people from India, including the Hindu population. One of the largest populations of immigrants currently living in Appalachia is from India and a majority of them are Hindu. There is much support from that population for a shrine to Saint Teresa.

Surrounding Dioceses
Faithful Catholics from both Southwest Virginia and Southern West Virginia have expressed support and a willingness to be involved.

Elected Officials
Legislators from both Kentucky and Virginia have expressed interest in supporting this project from an economic development perspective. While the Catholic Heritage portion of this project will be the financial responsibility of the Catholics, there is a potential for utilizing public funds in such areas as the tunnel restoration. The elected officials in Jenkins, while not Catholic, are very supportive of the sisters and once informed should be strong advocates of this effort.

The Strategy
To bring this effort to fruition and to reach its full potential, a coherent and intentional approach is necessary. Trusting in God’s providence and always seeking guidance from the Bishops and the Missionaries of Charity, a critical path approach should be implemented. The development of this project should take place in three phases.

Critical Path
Phase I-Develop the Shrine at Saint George Church

Tasks: 
a. Form a leadership committee
b. Form a 501c-3 nonprofit organization
c. Install the Mother Teresa Love and Mercy Exhibit in appropriate location
d. Perform minor repairs at Saint George Church
e. Identify major repairs at Saint George Church
f. Establish Memorandums of Understanding with potential partners
g. Launch website for shrine and pilgrimages (www.thecaptrail.com)
h. Commence public information campaign and fundraising

Estimated Budget - $25,000
Phase II- Develop the Pilgrimages

Tasks:
a. Map Catholic heritage sites in Central Appalachia
b. Establish Memorandums of Understanding with potential partners
c. Establish way-finding monuments and signage at Catholic heritage sites 
d. Develop a way-finding mobile app that directs pilgrims, delivers a narrative, documents milestones and provides levels of achievement certifications 
e.Establish relationships with pilgrimage and tourism organizations
f. Elevate public information campaign and fundraising 
Estimated Budget $150,000
(See Appendix A) 
Phase III- Develop the Physical Attractions

Tasks:
a. Acquire rights to the Pound-Jenkins tunnel
b. Procure public AML funds to restore Pound-Jenkins tunnel
c. Acquire rights for property for large Jesus statue positioned overlooking Jenkins 
d. Construct statue
e. Establish Catholic EWTN radio station to inform and educate local residents and pilgrims
f. Elevate marketing and events schedules 
Estimated Budget $10,000,000.00
(See Appendix B)

The Pilgrimage
The pilgrimage will be organized into driving tours called journeys or hiking tours called treks. Access and exist points will be designated by a perimeter defined by the interstate highways I-64, I-75, I-77, and I-81. Multiple journeys will be mapped to lead a pilgrim through the region, with the shrine functioning as the apex event on the pilgrimage, stopping at other catholic heritage sites along the way. 
There will be two main treks along the Pine Mountain Ridge: one running South to North from Jellico, Tennessee to Jenkins, Kentucky (incorporating the Little Shepherd’s Trail) and the other running North to South from the Breaks Interstate Park to Jenkins, Kentucky.
Excursions will be mapped deviations from the pilgrimage to other points of interest that the pilgrim will select.
The mobile application will incorporate a digital passport that documents each site the pilgrim visits there by encouraging the pilgrim to make repeat visits to the region to complete unvisited sites.  

The Statue
A statue of Jesus on top of a mountain overlooking the shrine will serve as a reminder that Mother Teresa and all faithful Catholics worship a risen Lord. It will have the added ecumenical benefit of serving as a reminder to the region of the need for Christian unity.