MAYSVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — The historic St. Patrick’s Cemetery has a lot of religious statuary among the gravestones. People who have been coming here since the 1850s see many reminders of the basis of their faith. But just beyond the fence, and the grave of famed singer/actress Rosemary Clooney, a much larger statuary garden is about to open.
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“It’s a dream come true,” said Jerry Lundergan, the Maysville native who developed the gardens. “I really never thought I’d be able to do something this glorious for others.”
The Gardens at St. Patrick’s will feature life-sized bronze statues depicting the 15 Stations of the Cross, representing the events that unfolded leading up to the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The statues will stand in the shadow of a seven-story cross.
The figures were made by Italian sculptor Reto Demetz and shipped to Maysville. Lundergan said the molds will be broken, so the statues will never be duplicated. Lundergan and his wife, Charlotte, are natives of Maysville who are paying for the entire project as a gift to the city they love. He is keeping the total cost to himself but acknowledges, “It’s in the millions.”
“This is where I was baptized, where I was married, and where I’ll be buried,” Lundergan said. “We’ve been a very fortunate family in our businesses, and we wanted to give something back.”
Lundergan made his money in the food industry as the founder of Lundy’s Catering and Emergency Disaster Services. He was a fixture in state politics for years, serving as a state representative and Democratic Party chairman. One of his five daughters is former Secretary of State Allison Lundergan Grimes. He was convicted of making illegal campaign contributions to her 2014 U.S. Senate campaign but was pardoned by President Joe Biden before he left office in 2025.
These days, at age 79, Lundergan said all of his energy is focused on the six-acre plot of land along U.S. 68. “Life here on Earth has been good,” he said, “but eternal life is what we really need to be working on. We all need to realize what the Lord went through for us.”
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He wants the roadside park to resemble the Garden of Gethsemane, where the New Testament says Christ prayed the night before his death.
Project manager Dan Graves said everyone working on the garden considers it to be something special. “Once everybody sees (the statues), the emotions will be pouring because they are very touching.”
The whole thing has come together in about ten months, with more than 60 people working 12-hour days in the weeks leading up to Easter. From the beginning, Lundergan vowed to have the garden open for Holy Week 2026.
The garden is expected to be a big attraction for this small town.
“We expect, you know, 100,000 plus visitors a year,” Lundergan said. “It’s going to be a big boom to the hotels, the restaurants, and filling stations.”
He said it is also a big plus for St. Patrick’s Church and parochial school, which will receive any excess money taken in from the gift shop and ten-dollar admission fee, after maintenance and utility costs are covered. The Gardens at St. Patrick’s operates as a non-profit and receives no tax dollars.
The original idea was to build a small meditation garden, but Lundergan called it “a peanut that grew into an elephant.” He sees it as a way to share the gospel with the multitudes.
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“It’s a sacred spot where people can come whether they’re in need of prayer or just want to have some quiet devotion,” he said. “It’s for everybody, no matter what your denomination is. We have a lot to be thankful for and a lot to thank Him for.”
Graves agrees. “This would be a good place to let God tap on your shoulder.”
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The Gardens at St. Patrick’s officially opens at 3:30 p.m. on April 1. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the former Archbishop of New York, will offer a blessing. The garden will also host an Easter Sunrise service at 8 a.m. on April 5.
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