This year St. Matthew Parish in Conshohocken celebrates its 175th anniversary, and to commence the Jubilee Anniversary Year, Archbishop Nelson Pérez celebrated Mass at the church on Sunday, Feb. 8.
The parish was founded in 1851 with a church located a few blocks away. In 1919 the current grand, cathedral-like church was completed on Fayette Street in the heart of the Montgomery County town.
The church’s awe-inspiring beauty features a soaring white marble altar and stunning stained-glass windows that transform sunlight itself into a work of art.
The parish choir, the impressive organ and a violin accompaniment elevated the beauty of the Mass. The music program at St. Matthew Parish has grown over the past couple of years thanks to the new music director, Gareth Haynes.
Haynes began his position in the fall of 2023 and has been working to grow the choir and music program.
When selecting the pieces for the jubilee Mass, Haynes, as he does for every Sunday Mass, ensured that the songs tied into the Scripture readings. He also recognized the parish’s history with additional musical selections.
“One aspect that I tried to lean into a little bit was that St. Matthew’s historically has a heritage as an Irish parish,” Haynes said. “That’s not as true now, but the building and the stained-glass windows attest to the Irish background. So I tried to suggest a little bit of a Celtic flair.”
He selected a violin prelude that “had a little bit of a Celtic feel to it,” he added, “(and) the closing song was the ‘Celtic Alleluia.’ So that was sort of intentional.”
The Celtic music gave an additional note of beauty and joy to the Mass in one of the few Sundays of Ordinary Time before Lent began.
During his homily, Archbishop Pérez discussed the importance of gratitude during the parish’s jubilee year. As the parish looks forward into its next chapter, he suggested, it is important for St. Matthew’s to remember all the parishioners who laid the foundation for the parish.
Archbishop Pérez cited Pope Francis’ writings that discussed parish life and the importance of the parish to grow and change so that it can best serve its parishioners in their time.
St. Matthew Parish’s celebration of its 175th anniversary shows that the parish has continued adapting and serving its community throughout the years.
Haynes looks forward to expanding the music program and creating a children’s choir for St. Matthew’s. The adult choir is also planning to sing at the Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Lent on March 15.
“We will try to offer some special services in the Easter season as well,” he said, “just building on the momentum of the 175th and capitalizing on the excitement around that.”
Following the anniversary Mass, many parishioners gathered for a breakfast prepared by parish volunteers. The parish hall was filled with all age groups, from young children running around to older parishioners who have been a part of St. Matthew’s for many years.
The range in ages shows the excitement for the future of St. Matthew Parish and the rich history it has in Conshohocken. Parishioners even received coffee mugs with the 175th Jubilee Year inscribed on the outside.
“It’s so awesome to see our parish full to the brim,” said St. Matthew’s parishioner Sam Taylor after the Mass. “St. Matthew has been so good to us and we are so glad that Archbishop Pérez was able to come and celebrate our faith community with us!”
St. Matthew’s will continue its jubilee anniversary year with other upcoming events including a Spring Fling Parish Reunion on April 18, a Jubilee Mass and Parish Picnic with Bishop Chylinski on Sept. 20 (preceding the patronal feast day) and a Veteran’s and First Responders Mass on Nov. 8.
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