Well, since we will be having our trivia tonight, I thought I would ask a couple of trivia questions. “What was the first diocese in the whole United States?”
Father looked around. “Father Ray probably knows this. What was it?”
“Baltimore,” someone replied.
“Well done. Baltimore, established on November 6, 1789.”
“And who was the first Bishop?”
“John Carroll.”
“More of you knew that one,” I smiled.
What I want to talk about tonight is this: we have the same Church happening today that we heard about in the Scriptures. The same Catholic Church that Jesus founded, and that the apostles began to bring into the world, is the same Church we gather in here—at Saint Matthias in Parma, OH, over 2,000 years later. It’s pretty amazing.
When you hear in today’s first reading about the apostles calling the church together and appointing presbyters—elders, as they’re sometimes called—that’s the Greek word, presbyteros, which means priest. They’re laying hands on them. The apostles are beginning to spread the Church. And where does the Church go? Wherever there are people.
Now, I want to talk about how the Church spread—and how it got all the way from Jerusalem to Parma, Ohio.
It began in Jerusalem. And the first Catholic Mass ever held in what is now the United States? That was in 1526, by a Dominican friar in San Miguel de Guadalupe—a settlement that only lasted three months. So, yes, even before the founding of our country, the Eucharist was celebrated on this land.
Now, who knows where the first Mass on the U.S. mainland was celebrated?
“St. Augustine, Florida!”
“That’s right—1565.”
The first Catholic chapel ever consecrated?
“Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1610.”
As people began to arrive in the New World, the Church followed. John Carroll became the first bishop in the United States in 1789—the same year as the U.S. Constitution. So, from the very beginning of our nation, the Catholic Church was present.
As the country expanded, so did the Church. It moved into the Northwest—and into Ohio.
Do you know what the first diocese in Ohio was?
“Cincinnati—not Cleveland,” I said, looking at Father Ray. “Are you giving them signs over there?”
“Cincinnati, established in 1821.”
The oldest church in Ohio?
“Saint Joseph Church in Somerset, founded in 1818.”
Now let’s get to Cleveland.
The Diocese of Cleveland was established on April 23, 1847. At that time, only about 10,000 people lived in the diocese. The very first Catholic Church in Cleveland was dedicated in 1840—St. Mary’s on the Flats—which later became the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist.
The first bishop of Cleveland? Bishop Louise Rappe.
Now, I had Fr. Tifft for Church history, and he told us Bishop Rappe was… well, a bit of a tyrant. He was very strict with his priests. At the time, the only rights a priest had were: five bales of hay per month for their horse, and a Christian burial. That was it.
The first Catholics in Cleveland were German and Irish immigrants—and there was tension between those communities. But as immigration increased, so did the number of churches. At one point, within just a five-mile radius of downtown Cleveland, there were 19 parishes—each representing its own ethnic group.
Eventually, Cleveland began expanding into the suburbs—and that’s where Parma enters the story.
In 1872, just 25 years after the diocese was founded, there were about 250 families living across 30 square miles in the rolling hills and green forests of what is now Parma. Eleven German farm families got together. They wanted their own priest. They knew it wouldn’t be easy, but they began to petition the bishop and organize.
They founded the first parish in Parma. Anyone know which one?
“Holy Family.”
Yes—Holy Family. They chose that name because these families wanted to be a holy family together.
As Parma continued to grow, some parishes reached 5,000 or 6,000 families. It became too much. Around 1980, Bishop Hickey (a year after I was born!) and Father Fiala began to explore the idea of smaller Catholic communities. Saint Matthias was born out of that experiment.
Saint Matthias was established in June of 1980, originally a mission of Saint Columbkille. The first Mass was held at Green Valley Elementary. Soon after, Father Morhan held town hall meetings—some of which, to be honest, didn’t go well. People were upset about leaving their former parishes.
But the ones who stayed built something beautiful.
Raise your hand if you’re one of the founding members of Saint Matthias.
Let’s give them a round of applause.
The parish broke ground on Sprague Road in 1985. Bishop Quinn dedicated the new building on October 5, 1986. The rectory came the following year. Originally, this building was a hall where Mass was celebrated. By 1996 or ’97, it became the church we know today.
Think about that journey—from Jerusalem… to the Americas… to Ohio… to Cleveland… to Parma… and now here, to Saint Matthias.
We are built on an Apostolic Faith. As Father Ray reminded me before Mass, we now have—for the first time—a Pope younger than he is! (Not for me yet)
But for 2,000 years, we’ve had an unbroken lineage: from Jesus to Peter… from the apostles to bishops… from bishops to priests… and from those clergy to laypeople, all working together under the Holy Spirit.
We are here today because Jesus appointed Peter to lead His Church. And that Church continues to follow the people, wherever they go.
And here we are—still faithful, still together.
Amen.
