Matthew's Catholic Church had its beginning at the first official meeting in June 1991 when a group of people met with Deacon Juan Garza and Sophia for the purpose of establishing a meeting place for prayer and worship. The group of founders with Deacon Garza and Sophia included Terry Garza, Johnny and Theresa Klecka, Jessie and Juanita Landeros, Lucia Sherman, Jimmy, and Faith Zajicek, and Reymon
d and Estha Zajicek. A letter of request for a meeting place was written to the Bishop by Johnny Klecka. J***y Klecka rented a building from H.B. After repairs to the building were made, a meeting was made, a meeting was held to select a name for the Church. Several names were mentioned and discussed. When the name of St. Matthew came up, Faith Zajicek stood up and said, "St. Matthew wrote the first gospel, and he was one of the Apostles. If he was good enough for Jesus, he should be good enough for us." Matthew was the name given to the new Church. The first Mass was celebrated on Sunday, October 27, 1991, with Father Tom Hanus and Deacon Juan Garza. In January 1992, St. Mathew was placed as a mission to St. Luke's Catholic Church in Temple with Father Walter Matus as the Canonical Priest and Deacon Garza as the day-to-day leader. Mass was held every Sunday and on holy days at 6:00 p.m. Religious Education Classes were started in 1992 with Lucia Sherman as the coordinator. In May, the first communion class received the sacrament of Holy Eucharist from Bishop McCarthy. In 1993, the Bishop placed St. Mathew as a mission to St. Monica's in Cameron with Father Tom Hanus as the Canonical Priest and Deacon Garza as administrator. Other priests in the area also came to offer services for Sunday Mass; those were Father Thaddeus Tabak from Rosebud, Father Victor Mathias from Rockdale, Father Leonard Leddy from Cyclone, and Father Steven Nesrsta from Temple. When a priest was not available, Deacon Garza gave a communion service. Matthew remained a mission to St. Monica's until July 1995, when it became a mission to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Temple with Father Florencio Rodriguez as Canonical Priest and Father Rick Aguilar as the assistant and Deacon Garza as the Administrator. Deacon John Petter served from February to September 1996. The church membership moved to the Rogers school for Sunday services from June 1996 to September 1997. Mathew's was placed as a mission to St. Luke's Catholic Church in Temple with Father Louis Pavlicek as Canonical Priest, Father David as assistant, and Deacon Garza as Administrator. Groundbreaking was held Sunday, February 16, 1997. It was such an exciting event that everyone present took turns in breaking the ground. Heavy rains all week and the very wet ground did not stop groundbreaking. The dedication date was set for October 26 at 4:00 p.m. This is the date of the sixth anniversary of St. Matthew Catholic Church.
