St. Matthias Parish Celebrates 175 Years of Faith

St. Matthias Parish celebrated its 175th anniversary, marking nearly two centuries of Catholic life on the southwest side of Milwaukee. The anniversary festivities began August 30 with a Mass and a parish picnic, and concluded September 13 with a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.

The parish traces its origins to approximately 1845, when German Catholics formed a community called Holy Cross. Bishop John Martin Henni formally established St. Matthias Parish in 1850, and the first church was dedicated the following year at a location known as Whiskey Corners.

As the community expanded, a brick Gothic Revival church was built in 1883. That building served the parish for over 80 years until the current church was constructed in the mid-1960s and dedicated in May 1967.