Fifty years to the exact date of its establishment as a parish after decades as a mission among the peaks and valleys ten miles north of downtown Harrisburg, St. Matthew Parish in Dauphin commemorated its golden jubilee with the celebration of Mass by its current and former pastors.
Parishioners filled the church for the celebration on Tuesday evening, February 10, welcomed by outdoor banners proclaiming the anniversary. In the narthex, a display of photos, newspaper articles and mementos illustrated a timeline that journeyed back to Masses in store fronts, firehalls and a former Presbyterian church as the Catholic community grew.
“It’s a delight to visit our little parish here in the valley,” Monsignor Quinlan, a former pastor who now serves as Vicar General of the Diocese, told the congregation. He served as principal celebrant of the Mass in place of Bishop Timothy Senior, who was sick with the flu. Father Paul Clark, current pastor and Diocesan Judicial Vicar, concelebrated.
Monsignor Quinlan was pastor of St. Matthew’s from 1999-2010. He led the feasibility study for the construction of the current church along Stoney Creek on the eastern shore of the Susquehanna, which was dedicated by the late Bishop Joseph McFadden in April of 2013.
With its stone edifice, wooden beams and windows that look out into the mountains and valleys of Dauphin, the church was built specifically for the Catholic parish.
“This parish is a spiritual home where we are called and literally taught by Jesus, every Sunday as we hear the Gospel proclaimed, and as we come to the font for new birth in baptism,” Monsignor Quinlan said in his homily. “It’s a place where we are nourished at the sacred banquet in the Mass. We are freed from our sins here in confession. It’s a place where the faith is celebrated in the sacrament of confirmation. It’s a place where we exchange life-changing vows in marriage. It’s a place of final rest when we are prepared for eternity.”
“This is the home Jesus has in our community. Jesus is with us as He was with Matthew – not as a bystander, but as a friend. Like Matthew, He calls us personally to follow Him, and to follow Him ultimately to His Father’s house,” he said.
Historical records in the 1800s show a visit by St. John Neumann to Stoney Creek in March of 1858. Catholics in the area were also visited by Jesuit missionaries traveling along the Susquehanna River.
In 1955, Bishop George Leech approved the establishment of a mission in Dauphin, served by priests from Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Harrisburg, with Masses celebrated in the Dauphin Fire Hall and later in a room in the Dauphin School.
The congregation received its first church in 1968 after the purchase of the former Dauphin Presbyterian Church.
St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist Parish was formally established by Bishop Joseph Daley on February 10, 1976.
Louis and Anna Poduszlo were among the founding members of St. Matthew’s Parish. At the anniversary Mass, Anna spoke to The Witness about one of her lasting memories of the parish’s first 50 years.
“We spent a number of years having Masses in the school and the firehall, and I was so happy when we moved into the Presbyterian Church, to actually be in a church,” she said. “One of my favorite memories was the first time it was decorated for Christmas. I was overjoyed! And of course, coming here to our very own church in 2013 was beautiful.”
“We’ve always been a young parish with a lot of families, and that’s important for our community to grow and support one another,” said Anna.
Parishioner Donna Grbich remembers the day Anna knocked on her door as part of a census in the very early days of the parish’s establishment.
Grbich was a member of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament at the time and was living in the new parish’s territory. It was Anna’s invitation and welcome that convinced her to attend St. Matthew’s. Fifty years later, they were sharing stories in the narthex before the golden jubilee Mass.
“This is a welcoming parish with people who are so friendly and generous. We’re a parish that supports each other as well as a number of local efforts,” Grbich said.
In remarks at the end of Mass, Father Clark told the congregation that anniversaries aren’t just an opportunity to look back; they’re also a time to look forward.
“One wonders what the next 50 years will bring in this parish. Will we, like those who came before us, be faithful stewards of our blessed inheritance? Will we pass on the faith to our children and grandchildren? Will those doors always remain open – open to love of the sinner, the stranger, the seeker, the brokenhearted? Hopefully we will all answer in the words that echo St. Peter’s words to our Risen Lord…’Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’”
“I am amazed with your turnout this evening; it is an expression of your love of God and your commitment and dedication to our parish family,” he told the congregation.
(Photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness.)
By Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness
