Growing parish adds worship space to church

By William T. Clew | The Catholic Free Press

SOUTHBOROUGH - St. Matthew Parish has what amounts to a new church.
Construction was done in about six months.
It’s all paid for.
And Father James B. Flynn is a happy, grateful pastor.
The original church was built in 1877, according to a brief history published by the parish. It was built on a half acre in the Cordaville/Southville section of Southborough donated by a local mill owner.
The parish property around the church has been enlarged  over the years.
The parish is growing, and people from parts of the nearby towns of Westborough, Hopkinton and Ashland also are finding it convenient to attend Mass at St. Matthew, Father Flynn said.
The congregation keeps growing, but the church building, of course, did not. Father Flynn met with the parish finance committee and it was decided that expansion was in order.
  Letter Concepts from Connecticut was hired to conduct a fund drive. Some parishioners and others in town were invited to a gathering to discuss plans for expansion and asked to support the project.
“We had a cocktail party,” Father Flynn said. “We raised $250,000.”
The drive then was opened to the entire parish and raised another $800,000.
Construction began last July, he said. The front wall of the original church was knocked out.
“I thought the building might fall down,” Father Flynn said.
It didn’t and it now makes up a little less than half of the church. There is a new, larger entrance, new windows, and a sprinkler system. The sacristy and the church basement were renovated and the steeple was repaired. The original church seated about 230 or 240 people. The renovated and expanded church seats more than 500, he said.
“It’s like a brand new church,” Father Flynn said.
The work cost about $1.1 million. Donors gave gifts, some of them very large gifts, and made pledges. The fund-raising organization said that in the average fund drive about 8 percent of the pledges are not fulfilled. All the pledges at St. Matthew have been honored, Father Flynn  said. And all the bills are paid.
On Feb. 25, Bishop McManus blessed the renovation and expansion. At the ceremony, Father Flynn thanked everyone who supported the work, “especially those who sacrificed to make gifts and pledges to finance the project.
“Likewise, I am thankful to Mr. Bill Depietri and his contractors who designed and constructed the expansion and renovated the old space along with the church hall. In addition, the St. Matthew Parish finance committee monitored the project as we moved along.
“What a wonderful venue we now have to baptize, administer the sacraments, hear the Word of God and be nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ. May this be an occasion for us to renew our love for God and neighbor and become a sign of the goodness of God to others,” Father Flynn said.
There are five Masses every weekend at St. Matthew; one on Saturday and four on Sunday. Father Flynn said he usually has help from a priest who comes from Boston College and from a priest from New York who, every couple of weekends, visits relatives in Southborough.

Photo by Lisa Tommaney