Detroit Church Blog: St. Matthew Church, Flint

Saturday, December 15, 2018

St. Matthew Church, Flint

St. Matthew Parish was established on October 8, 1911, in downtown Flint. Fr. Mortimer Sullivan, a priest of the Order of St. Augustine, was the founding pastor. Construction of the current church was began in 1919 and was finished the following year. The Detroit firm of VanLeyen, Shilling & Keough designed the church in a Romanesque style. At the same time, the parish built a K-12 school directly behind the church.

The parish school closed in 1970 and the building was later home to a series of Montessori and charter schools. The school building was eventually demolished in the summer of 2008 and a parking stands at the site.

Augustinians ministered at the parish for nine decades until they left Flint in June, 2016. The emblem of the Order of St. Augustine is found throughout the church and on the front of the rectory.

Not surprisingly, depictions of St. Matthew, St. Augustine, St. Monica, and st. Rita are found throughout the church.

St. Augustine and St. Rita, an Augustinian nun, stand in niches at the back of the church.

The parish recently redid the flooring throughout the church, including hand-cut mosaics.

St. Matthew, surrounded my angels, stands in the apse above the altar. John 1:29 is inscribed around the edge of the apse. Medallions of the four evangelists surround the altar.

St. Jerome and St. Charles Borromeo in one set of windows. St. Paul and St. Stephen in another set of windows.

The traditional side altars to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, respectively.

A side altar to St. Augustine and St. Monica; another altar to St. Thérèse.

The south transept windows depict the Holy Family, the Nativity of Our Lord, and the Annunciation, respectively.

The north transept windows depict the Multiplication of Loaves, Jesus Blessing Children, and the wealthy young man (Matthew 19).

Angels are depicted standing in balconies along the clerestory.

Two large murals show scenes from the life of Blessed Virgin Mary. The betrothal of Joseph and Mary; St. Anne and Child Mary.

God the Father is depicted above the front door.

Madonna and Child over a side door.

A Lourdes grotto outside the church; a belltower stands above one corner of the church.

St. Matthew has daily Mass at 12:10pm, M-F. Saturday Vigil Mass is at 4:30pm while Sunday Masses are at 10:30am and 3:00pm. The Sunday afternoon Mass is in the Extraordinary Form.