St. Matthew Catholic Parish
Following the establishment ofJourdanton in 1909, many catholic families of Hispanic, Irish, Polish, and German descent expressed interest in building a church. Bishop J.W. Shaw traveled from San Antonio to assist in preparing a new church building. In 1912, the church held dedication ceremonies for the mission-style brick building on land donated by the Central Townsite Company. For the next decade, the parish grew rapidly and received guidance from Rev. Manuel Moreno and other priests in the area. One leader, Father Kasper, assisted the Czech parishioners by helping to establish K.J.T and K.J.Z.T. Organizations for Czech men and women.
In 1925, Rev. Smith became the first resident pastor and the first church rectory and Parish Hall was built in 1926. Father Smith contributed much to the parish, including organizing the first 4th of July picnic and founding the group, Children of Mary. Under Father Benz’s leadership, a second parish hall was built in 1934, and a catholic school opened in September 1937, but was forced to close in 1940. In May 1961, under Father Lieb’s direction, a new church was built utilizing the original cast iron bell. A new parish hall was built in 1979. The St. Matthew Catholic Parish contributed to many aspects of the community, including participating in fraternal, cultural, and religious groups such as a Czech Sokol gymnastics group in the early 1940s, the Sociedades Guadalupanas for Catholic Women, Knights of Columbus, Ladies’ Altar Society, Catholic Daughters of Americans, and youth organizations. The church continues to serve their neighbors with a soup kitchen and thrift store, and remains a beacon of light in the community.