St. Matthew Parish History

The history of the Roman Catholic Church goes back to the Apostles. However, Catholicism did not come to our country until much later. It is disputed who was the first to bring Catholicism here. Was it St. Brendan the Navigator whose writings vouch for his presence here in the 6^th century or Leif Erickson who came in the 1300s? Perhaps it was later with the arrival of the Spanish explorers in Florida in 1539 or Christopher Columbus in 1492? Be that as it may, the Catholics in this lovely Hudson River village did not have their own church services until the 1800s.

The first industry in the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson was the quarrying of marble. From 1828 until 1870, the marble excavated at the quarries near the aqueduct south of Washington Avenue were transported by small gauge tracks on rails to the Hudson River where they were picked up by boats and sent all around the world. Many homes in Hastings, some of which are still standing today, were built of this marble and many famous landmarks in our country, including the Custom House at Charleston, South Carolina, were created from the marble from these quarries. When explosives damaged some of the Draper property, a controversy broke out that resulted in the termination of this industry.

Some of these workers were undoubtedly Catholic, as were many of the men who built the Croton reservoirs and the railroad along the Hudson River. However, Catholics had to travel far to practice their religion in those days. History tells us that in the 1840s, a Father Bienvenu, who was a Jesuit assigned to Fordham in the Bronx (then a part of Westchester) traveled by horseback to say Mass once a month for people in this area.

In 1848, St. Mary’s Church (Immaculate Conception) in Yonkers was built and the priest in that church took over this responsibility. In 1851, Sacred Heart Church in Dobbs Ferry was built. Then, in 1863, a mission church of Sacred Heart was started in Hastings. The pastor of Sacred Heart, Fr. David O’Connor, lived for a short time on Broadway (in the former Baker Memorial Home) before settling in Dobbs Ferry. Mass was said at the Baker Memorial Home and also at the Trainor house on Maple Avenue (the current location of the Municipal Building). In 1870, a chapel was erected on the site of the current Overseas Auto Body on Warburton Avenue and was called a “Chapel of Ease.” The records of St. Matthew’s Church go back to 1873, at which time there were 371 members of the community. The Catholic community flourished and with the approval of Archbishop Michael A. Corrigan, St. Matthew’s Parish was established in 1892.

Archbishop Corrigan appointed Father T.J. Quinn as the first pastor. Parish records show that Michael Malloy and Margaret Hogan were married on October 26, 1892. Earlier that year, a baptism is recorded on July 6, 1892, of an Agnes Mann. The first pastor also tried to establish a parochial school. This was discontinued because of a lack of funds and students. In 1898, the school was started again with happier results.

The social life of the Catholic community flourished too. In 1894, records show the 4^th Grand Annual Excursion of the Young Men’s Catholic Association of Hastings! Social activities eventually centered on St. Matthew’s Lyceum Social Club for Men, who met in a small cottage on the west side of Warburton Avenue. Here, men met to play pool, socialize, plan their athletic events. The records also show that they had performances and “revues” from 1917 to 1933! They also had a very active baseball team.

In 1929, St. Matthew’s Holy Name Society had its first annual Communion Breakfast. This annual event was held for many years and at one time St. Matthew’s had the largest Holy Name Society in the Hudson Valley!

Fr. Quinn served as pastor from 1892 until 1907. He was succeeded by Fr. Thomas O’Keefe, who was pastor until 1940. The present church was built in 1914, while he was pastor. The first wedding in the new church was that of Marguerite Duddy and Walter Scully on August 12, 1915.

The first organist in the church was Marian Cook Dawsey, who served for many years beginning 1914 until a problem with her eyesight caused her to resign. Miss Rosalie Martin replaced Ms. Dawsey as organist and served in this capacity until 1942. Mrs. Clara McCoy then began a service of 20 years and was followed by Mrs. Betty Scully in 1962. She served as organist and choir director until 1986, when Susan Muller took on the post.

The parochial school was located in a wood frame building and was to serve many students until its replacement by the brick structure now standing on Broadway and Villard Avenue, which was erected in 1952.

Fr. O’Keefe’s long and fruitful pastorate ended in 1940, when he was succeeded by Fr. Thomas F. Kane, who served until his death in 1948. During his leadership, the parishioners were introduced to the practice of using missalettes during Mass and encouraged to follow the Mass with the books which were provided. When Fr. Kane became pastor, a welcoming dinner was held at Schmidt’s Farm and was attended by between 500 and 1,000 people, including many dignitaries.

In 1948, Msgr. Aloysius S. Karl was appointed pastor. While pastor, he built the new school in 1952 and a new rectory in 1958, right next door to the church on the site of the old school, which replaced the former rectory on Villard Avenue. It was during his pastorate, in 1956, that a unit of the international lay apostolate organization, the Legion of Mary, was organized.

In 1962, Msgr. William V. O’Connor became pastor after the death of Msgr. Karl. During the summer of 1963, the church was closed briefly for renovations. Because of illness, Msgr. O’Connor was forced to retire and was replaced by Msgr. William J. Kenealy in 1968. During the 18 years of his pastorate, many alterations in the church were done to conform with the mandates of Vatican II. Msgr. Kenealy retired in 1986 and died in 1989.

In 1986, Msgr. Edward T. McCorry was appointed pastor of the newly combined Catholic Community of St. Matthew and St. Stanislaus Kostka. During the 18 years of his pastorate, the two previously separated church communities were brought together seamlessly. Msgr. McCorry was the catalyst in bringing the communities together at picnics and annual dinner dances. After enjoying a long retirement, Msgr. McCorry passed away in 2022.

In 2004, Fr. Matthew Fernan was appointed to the pastorate, where he served until 2015. During this time, many changes came to the parish. In June 2005, St. Matthew School was permanently closed, bringing to an end over 100 years of Catholic education in Hastings-on-Hudson. In October 2005, St. Stanislaus Kostka Church was the victim of a flood due to a partial roof collapse during a storm. The church building would never reopen, and the parish was canonically suppressed in 2007. Fr. Fernan  labored to incorporate portions of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church into St. Matthew Church. This included the replacement of the front confessional with the St. Stanislaus high altar, the relocation of the church’s stained-glass windows to the sacristy and the baptistry installed in the front of the church.

The parish has been blessed with at least four vocations to the priesthood: Fr. Alfred Croke (diocesan priest), Fr. John Scully (Society of St. Edmund), Fr. George Ribeiro (Franciscan Friars) and Msgr. Philip W. Hill (diocesan priest). We have also had several women enter religious life from the parish, including Sr. Grace Dorothy Duddy, Sr. Anne James Guerin, Sr. Francine Kavanah, Sr. Imelda (Mary Jo) Nolan and Sr. Virginia Waters. All of these sisters belonged to the Franciscan Missionary Sisters, who were teachers at the former St. Matthew School. Please God, there will be more vocations to come!

Information taken from the parish files and previously compiled parish histories.