Saint Matthew Catholic Church

• A HISTORY OF ST. MATTHEW CATHOLIC CHURCH

   

  1964	The Archdiocese of Atlanta purchased the Matthew Public School building    and property for the purpose of establishing a mission church.  The   building was in dire need of repair.
  1965	The mission church was dedicated in the Spring of 1965 by Auxiliary            Bishop Joseph L. Bernardin and was originally designated as a mission of      the parish of St. Joseph, in Athens. There were nine original families that     were involved in the early years. The original parishioners for the mission   were the James Cohron family, Armand Cody, Joseph Graceau, Iva Grant,     the James Lord family, the John Nastro family, Evelyn Olson, the James     Taylor family , and Betty Wall.
  1972	The mission was transferred to St. Anna Catholic Church in Monroe.  Over   the next three decades, may repairs and upgrades were made.
  1991	The mission was again transferred to St. Oliver Plunkett in Snellville.   At   this time, it was served by the missionaries of LaSalette – Rev. Thomas   Carroll, M.S., Rev. Michael Flanagan, M.S., and Rev. Clifford Hasler, M.S.
  1992	Major renovations to the sanctuary, the social hall and the classrooms     were undertaken.  The work was completed in 1992.  At this time, stained   glass windows were installed, having been hand-crafted by the monks at   the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers.  The side widows were   purchased from St. Joseph’s Infirmary when it moved from downtown   Atlanta. The stained glass windows across the back of the mission were   added later by the Beaupre family.
  1992	Sister Arcaro and Sister Clar Mahoney, Cenacle Sisters, became members     of St. Matthew Catholic Mission.
  1994	Sister Barbara Young and Sister Alice Weckerle joined the mission when   Sister Clara retired. St. Matthew’s faith community continued to grow.
  1997	A new Religious Education building was added behind the church to serve   the growing community.
  1999	June 24, 1999, a decree of establishment was issued Archbishop John Francis Donoghue establishing the parish of St. Matthew and fundraising plans were made to build a new church. Reverend Reyes was the founding pastor.
  2004-   07	A Capital Campaign was initiated and groundbreaking for the church and   office facility was held in 2006.  Reverend Father Jaime Barona was the   pastor during this time. The building was completed in June of 2007 and   the first mass was held on the weekend of June 24th.
  2007	On September 22, Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory dedicated out new church    and office facility.  The old church was renamed Hedges Hall in honor of     our long-time parishioners and benefactors, Fred and Virginia Hedges.         It became a social hall for the parish.
  2012	The Reverend Gilbert Exume assumed the role of pastor and the parish has   continued to grow in number of families.  The parish continues to focus on   the spiritual growth of its membership, safety and security of parish   property and parishioners, and fiscal responsibility to ensure stability and   growth.