Monsignor Ralph W. Beiting (January 1, 1924 - August 9, 2012[1][2]) was a Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Christian Appalachian Project in the US.
After ordination in 1949, Beiting was assigned to work as an assistant pastor in a northern Kentucky parish and as a math teacher at Newport Catholic High School.
"On October 7, 1950," he said, "I found myself in Appalachia, pastor of a non-existent church in a parish the size of the state of Rhode Island.
In the early years, he frequently made trips to pick up food, clothing and household goods from his friends and family.
In 1957, he and his associate pastor, Father Herman Kamlage, pooled their small stipends and bought land on Herrington Lake in Garrard County, Kentucky, to start a summer camp for boys.
Named Cliffview Lodge, it was integrated (during the days when segregation was expected), and incorporated independently from the Catholic Diocese of Covington.
Cliffview offered recreation and fellowship in a Christian atmosphere to boys from poor families in the counties where Beiting ministered.
[5] Beiting served as the pastor of parishes in Garrard, Rockcastle, Jackson and southern Madison counties in Kentucky until 1981.