‘From the earliest times at St. Matthew the spirit of mercy has been here’
‘From the earliest times at St. Matthew the spirit of mercy has been here’CHARLOTTE — In a joy-filled joint celebration, parishioners, staff and clergy of St. Matthew Church gathered Sept. 21 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the parish and to recognize the Sisters of Mercy and their contribution to the Church and the diocese.
Eighteen Sisters of Mercy made the trip from the convent in Belmont to attend Mass and witness the dedication of the parish banquet hall in the name of the late Sister Jeanne Marie Kienast, who served the parish from its humble beginnings.
“Today, we as the community of St. Matthew celebrate 30 years,” Monsignor John McSweeney said at the beginning of his homily.
He reminisced about the past, sharing that back in 1984 the diocese was looking around the greater Charlotte area for land to establish new parishes in the future.
Pictured: Monsignor John J. McSweeney, pastor of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, celebrated the parish’s 30th anniversary Mass Sept. 21. Honored guests included the Sisters of Mercy South Central Community of Belmont. The late Mercy Sister Jeanne Marie Kienast (left), who served the parish for three decades, was honored posthumously with a donation of $75,000 from the parish to Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte to further her commitment to assisting the poor in the community. The banquet room in the parish’s New Life Center was also dedicated in her name. Her longtime friend and co-worker in parish ministries, Sister Therese Galligan, is pictured (left) with the memorial plaque in the parish banquet room. (Photos by SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald)
“They would be named after the evangelists,” he explained.
“Bishop (Michael) Begley, Father (Joseph) Kerin and myself got in the car. I had gotten a survey of this land. Their tradition, which I never agreed with,” he joked, “was to walk the property. I am deathly afraid of snakes! So we came here. This property was purchased in 1984.”
The Sisters of Mercy were simultaneously in the process of building a new Mercy South hospital in Matthews, which was also a very rural area at that time, Monsignor McSweeney said.
“Sept. 21, 1986, it was announced there would be a new parish and the new parish would be St. Matthew, located in this part of town,” he recalled. “From that day on, the journey begins.”
“This parish was always built on the idea that was established in the Vatican II spirit of the baptismal commitment of each person and that each person is welcome, no matter what. You are welcome here because we are all sons and children of God. We come around this altar to give honor and glory to Almighty God.”
He shared that the trees planted on the property over the years serve a purpose: to create a spiritual oasis, so that all who come to the parish grow in spirituality and in service to the community.
“We always work with the idea of living stones. That’s why this building has so many cinder blocks in it. Every block in this building represents somebody, and everyone is different. (We are) always understanding the sense of mercy and how we are all in it together.”
Monsignor McSweeney noted that when the parish began, it comprised only 200 parishioners. Today there are more than 11,000 registered families.
”The parish is grown up now,” he said. “We have about 34,000 people who say they are a part of the community of St. Matthew. In that is a philosophy of spirituality, of service and social. It’s still going.
“When we look at the spiritual life here of our parish, I am sort of proud to say that every day we have 300 to 400 persons attending daily Mass. The day begins with daily Mass. The day begins with another group that gathers for the Divine Office… Another group prays the rosary praying for peace, vocations, etc. The Divine Mercy Chaplet (is prayed), too.
“Why? Because at St. Matthew we give honor and glory to Almighty God first and foremost.”
Carol Vincent, her late husband Jerry, and their children were some of those original parishioners. She recalls attending daily Mass in the rectory during the parish’s humble beginnings.
“All the hospitality, all the ministries have grown,” Vincent said. “There isn’t anything here that somebody can’t grasp. I think that that brings community. That’s what we need – community. We started out with community.”
Later in his homily, Monsignor McSweeney said, “From the earliest times at St. Matthew the spirit of mercy has been here. Here we are in this Jubilee of Mercy. (There is) that whole understanding that we have to reach out to do something different.”
One of the things the parish and staff at St. Matthew wanted to do was to honor the late Mercy Sister Jeanne Marie Kienast, who spent decades serving the parish. She died in December 2015. She helped found ministries, lead Bible studies, counseled parishioners who needed a listening ear, and reached out to the poor and less fortunate in the community. She was known for her keen wit, a wonderful sense of humor and infectious smile.
“Jeanne Marie isn’t with us physically,” Monsignor McSweeney said, but “she is very much here. The Mercy presence is still very much physically alive in this parish.”
After his homily, Monsignor McSweeney presented a $75,000 donation from the parish in her honor to Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte Executive Director Dr. Gerard Carter to help the poor throughout the diocese.
Sister Ann Marie Wilson was among the Sisters of Mercy at the Mass.
“Sister Jeanne Marie worked with the first pastor, Monsignor Kerin, and he always was very pleased to have her,” she noted. “He said he would administer the sacraments and she would minister to the family. He said it was like hand and glove. So this is a beautiful tribute not only to all the Sisters of Mercy, but a beautiful tribute to her.”
Mercy Sister Therese Gallagher was Sister Jeanne Marie’s longtime roommate and coworker in the parishes with her, helping to spearhead new ministries and outreach programs around the diocese.
“I am thrilled to be a Sister of Mercy. It has been a wonderful life. I am also thrilled about Jeanne Marie, that they are honoring her in this way. And I know she is with us in spirit,” she said.
Sister Jeanne Marie’s niece, Jean Kienast Culbreth, came from California to be present for the dedication of the parish banquet room in her late aunt’s honor. She was wearing a small, gold crucifix that St. Matthew Church had given Sister Jeanne Marie years ago.
“I am stunned. I can hear her voice saying, ‘I didn’t do that much. I didn’t deserve this.’ She was very humble. I honestly didn’t know all that she had done,” Culbreth said.
Longtime parishioner Carol Vincent also shared her thoughts on Sister Jeanne Marie’s contributions to the parish.
“She started the HOPE program at St. Matthew, reaching out to people in need. It just took off from there. The ministries (at the church) all started with HOPE,” Vincent said.
Monsignor McSweeney also elaborated during his homily on the why the parish wanted to honor the work of all the Sisters of Mercy, following in the footsteps of their foundress, Catherine McAuley.
“The Knights of Columbus are here today because they asked to be here, sisters, to honor you,” Monsignor said. “We are going to be honoring the Sisters of Mercy, to honor that sense of health care, that sense of education, that sense of parish ministry, that sense of caring for the poor in all different ways.”
He asked Mercy Sister Mary Hugh Mauldin, who still serves the parish, to join him at the top of the sanctuary steps so as to recognize her and the Sisters of Mercy for their contributions. He presented her with a certificate of appreciation for all she has done and continues to do for the parish and the Church.
“It’s our privilege to honor the Sisters of Mercy. It plays out with the Mercy Associates who are here today in the sense of this idea that we care for each other… Mercy is about relationships and how we take care of each other. We learn to take care of each other through education,” Monsignor McSweeney explained.
Deacon Daren Bitter, a parishioner at St. Matthew for the past 10 years and a deacon for more than five years, assisted at the Mass.
“The thing that impresses me the most is the sense of the Holy Spirit that courses throughout the parish,” Deacon Bitter said.
“There’s this notion that it is the largest parish in the country, and it probably is. It’s still an intimate environment where people can find their home in small groups and journey with Christ in a small environment. The charity out of this parish is mind-boggling. It’s a joy!”
Monsignor McSweeney reflected on what he has seen happen at the parish over the past three decades.
“In 30 years this place, not this building, has become a witness to what Pope Francis is asking all of us to be: to be people of mercy.”
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
