Young, But Confident
St. Matthew, Durham
The pioneers of the Catholic community of St. Matthew were 100 determined families from Immaculate Conception Church in downtown Durham. In 1990 the “Mother church” gave the fledgling community 19 acres of land on Mason Road, in the rolling fields of north Durham adjacent to Avila Retreat Center. The Diocese provided a pastor, Father Thomas Tully, and the new parish was named in a meeting at the Eno Trace Clubhouse.
While planning and raising money to build a church, St. Matthew bought a building nearby to serve as a Parish Center, with a chapel, rectory and office. Liturgies, larger meetings and social functions were held there or wherever space could be arranged, including parishioners’ homes, a motel, a couple of public schools and the Aldersgate Methodist Church. Meanwhile the community learned that watershed restrictions would require the purchase of additional land to meet projected needs.
Work on a church site began in earnest on the Feast of St. Matthew, September 21, 1993, and ground was broken in December. The following July a Eucharistic procession brought the Blessed Sacrament from the chapel to the new church for the first Mass. Bishop F. Joseph Gossman dedicated St. Matthew on December 4, 1994.
In the last two decades, the parish has grown more than fourfold (to 435 families) and the expansion of parish facilities has continued. Temporary buildings were added to house parish offices and to provide additional meeting space. Saint Matthew Catholic Cemetery was established in 1997 and an offsite rectory purchased in 1998. Today, current Pastor Father Robert Diegelman explains, more than two years of planning and fundraising for a new Parish Center are reaching their culmination, with construction to start in the near future.
Father Diegelman describes his flock as “independent and involved.” St. Matthew’s diverse membership includes Anglos and Hispanics, Vietnamese and Filipinos, and many youth. Faith formation has expanded along with the congregation. “Our faith community works together to live out the Gospel,” Father Diegelman says, citing numerous outreach initiatives. There is a special concern for the sick and homebound; parishioners bring Communion to members unable to come to church, and Father Diegelman serves as a Catholic chaplain at Durham Regional Medical Center.
Compared to most of the parishes in the Diocese of Raleigh, St. Matthew is young. It is optimistic, however, as its official parish history proclaims: “God has blessed our parish over the last 19 years. We confidently move forward knowing He will continue to shower His love on our parish community.”