Nerinx is a northwestern Marion county community about two miles north of Loretto. It is the home of the convent of the Sisters of Loretto. The town was founded in the early nineteenth century by Father Stephen Theodore Badin and named Saint Stephens and may also have been known as Priestland. The Sisters of Loretto moved to the site in about 1820 from nearby Saint Mary. The town was renamed Nerinckx for Fr. Charles Nerinckx, the founder of the order. The Nerinx post office opened in 1899. The shortened spelling is now commonly used.