About Saint Matthew Catholic Church
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Saint Matthew Catholic Church was established by the Diocese of Raleigh in July of 1990, with the assignment of
Fr. Thomas Tully as the pastor. About 100 families from Immaculate Conception church began a new ‘Adventure of Faith’ in north Durham county. A forested parcel of land on Mason Road, next to the Avila Retreat Center, was purchased by the new parish in December 1991. After a successful fund drive, work on the site officially began on the feast of St. Matthew, 21 September 1993. Our first Mass in the new 6,000 square foot, multi-purpose Church took place less than a year later in July of 1994. In 1997, St. Matthew Catholic Cemetery was established and consecrated as the only Catholic cemetery in Durham county.
Over the next sixteen years, through the blessings of God, St. Matthew Parish has flourished and grown to over 450 families. After the departure of Father Tully in 1997, Fr. Paul Byron came out of retirment and graciously served as our Administrator for one year, until the arrival of the new pastor, Fr. John Parish in 1998. Father John faithfully served the faithful of St. Matthew Parish until 2006 when he was replaced by Fr. Robert Diegelman.
Following another successful fund drive and under the guidance of Father Bob, the Parish broke ground in 2009 on our new 9,000 square foot Parish Center. In addition to office space for the parish staff, it includes four meeting rooms for Faith Formation, a kitchen, and Social Hall for large gatherings. On 28 February 2010, Bishop Michael Burbidge dedicated and blessed our new Parish Center.
In June 2011, Father Bob retired after many years of faithful service to the diocese and we welcomed our current pastor Fr. Thanh Nguyen. In 2014 we began celebrating our 25th Anniversary as northern Durham’s Catholic faith community. The future of St. Matthew Parish is one of continued hope, joy and promise as we continue to grow in our Adventure of Faith.
