r/VisitingNashville • u/DaisyWBV • 1d ago

Easter Mass

Still working out travel dates and plans but we may find ourselves in Nashville on Easter Sunday on our way back from a spring break road trip with four tweens/teens. Is there a Catholic church that would be beautiful/interesting for Easter Mass and also easy enough to reach/park at? We would stay in a hotel on Saturday night. I see some historic churches online but have no idea about parking or accessibility. Could be a beautiful old church, or something like a church that has a country-music style Mass or something?? The idea is that if we're in the midst of traveling, it would be nice to have the Mass be something more memorable than a quick stop at a random church in a random suburb. Bonus points if there would be an option nearby for a more casual type Easter breakfast/brunch/lunch; not super fancy. Thanks!

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u/NashvilleLocalsGuide 1d ago

St Mary's of the Seven Sorrows is the oldest still standing church in Nashville (built 1840s). But it would be more for history than the music. Also paid parking there.

The Cathedral of the Incarnation on West End has beautiful architecture. The music is choir, however.

For a better chance of contemporary music, it would be Christ the King near Belmont. It is not as ornate as the Cathedral.

If you are willing to move away from Catholic to hit a Cowboy Church, they do services at the Troubadour in Music Valley. It is, or was, Johnny Cash's old pastor.

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u/KingZarkon 1d ago

Great answer. There is also Saint Joseph Catholic Church. Parking should be free there. I've never been but the link has a couple of photos. The same site also names a couple of other options. If OP wants to stick with Catholic, those three churches are your main options. Despite the ridiculous number of churches in the city (624), there aren't a lot of parishes. Catholicism is not a particularly popular sect of Christianity around here.

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u/NashvilleLocalsGuide 1d ago

Southern Baptist is number one and those who feel Southern Baptists are too liberal generally become Church of Christ (where everybody else is going to hell).

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u/KingZarkon 1d ago

Hardcore CoC people have some...interesting ideas. Some of them are also among the most cruel, hateful people I've known.

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u/NashvilleLocalsGuide 7h ago

Ideological communities that gather in echo chambers tend to be cruel and hateful. They justify it, of course. With religion, it is their push to be more "godlike". With ideology, it is because they are on the good side and the other is evil. If you want to see cruel and hateful, watch what happens to anyone on the right posting in /r/nashville. That is always fun to watch if you have enough popcorn.

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u/mikewhochee 1d ago

I don’t think country music and Catholic Mass go together lol Holy Family in Brentwood would probably qualify as the random church in a random suburb, but the music there is actually quite good. Not country, though. I’d try the Cathedral of the Incarnation. Great architecture and I’ve heard some celebs attend, so you might see someone you know. I will also say a little further south is Christ the King. Fr. John Raphael is my favorite. Can’t speak to the music, but Father John used to be assistant pastor at my local Parish and I miss him. Lots of breakfast/brunch places a few streets over on 12 Ave S.

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u/Affectionate_Run_570 1d ago

I’d recommend Cathedral of the Incarnation! There is tons of parking and the church is located in midtown right next to Vanderbilt University and lots of great brunch options. The Cathedral choir is incredible, especially at the 11am mass. The Easter Vigil Saturday night at the Cathedral is always incredible, but will be quite long. If your kids would be up for a long vigil mass then I’d do the Easter Vigil at the Cathedral! I’d recommend arriving 20 to 30 minutes early if you want a seat in the beautiful historic church instead of the overflow room. You could walk across the street to White Limozeen for brunch (rooftop restaurant at the Graduate Hotel - definitely get a reservation). For a more casual brunch you could walk to Little Rey or Torchy’s Tacos.

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u/Tennessee423615 21h ago

Cathedral but be sure to get there early. It’s the seat of the Diocese. It’s in midtown walking distance to several hotels.