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St. Matthew Catholic Church is a Catholic parish in the Ballantyne neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, in the Diocese of Charlotte. As of 2017, it was one of the largest Catholic parishes in the United States, with over 10,500 registered families and more than 12,000 weekly attendees.

History

On September 21, 1986, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte announced the plan for a new church. The congregation, then made up of 237 families, originally met for Mass in the Tower Theater.

In 2017 St. Matthew's had 35,599 registered members, making up 13.7 percent of the entire population of the Diocese of Charlotte. It has been described as a Catholic megachurch. St. Matthew's clergy and staff reportedly observed ministerial methods and management strategies from Protestant evangelical megachurches, including Saddleback Church. The church operates a satellite campus in Waxhaw, called St. Matthew South. Until 2023, when it was overtaken by St. Charles Borromeo in Visalia, St Matthew's was the largest Catholic parish church in the United States.

The church, which is run by the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, claims to be welcoming to divorced Catholics as well as LGBTQ Catholics, and emphasizes the teachings and culture of the Second Vatican Council.

In 1999 Fr. Robert Yurgel, a priest at St. Matthew's, sexually abused a fourteen-year-old altar boy. Yurgel was removed from the Capuchin order and defrocked from the Catholic priesthood in 2010. He was arrested in 2009 after pleading guilty to a second-degree sexual offense.

References

1. "Parish History – St. Matthew".
2. ^ Funk, Tim (April 25, 2017). "NC now has country's biggest Catholic parish – in Charlotte". charlotteobserver. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
3. Boll, Jamie. "Inside Charlotte's St. Matthew, the largest Catholic Parish in the U.S." wbtv.com.
4. "Lessons on evangelization from the largest parish in the United States". America Magazine. April 5, 2017.
5. "St. Matthew Church surpasses 10,000 registered families". catholicnewsherald.com.
6. Seed, John (February 20, 2023). "The Art in America's Largest Catholic Parish Church". Hyperallergic.
7. "St. Matthew keeps Jesus at center of its megachurch-style campus". National Catholic Reporter. July 13, 2017.
8. "Pastor at largest Catholic church in U.S. retires". Daytona Beach News-Journal Online.
9. "Priest Who Leads Largest Catholic Church in US: We Should Allow Married Priests". www.christianpost.com. July 11, 2017.
10. "Priest Charged with Sex Crimes in Charlotte Rev Robert Yurgel Accused of Having Sex with 14-Year-Old Boy in 1999, by Gary L. Wright and Tim Funk, Charlotte Observer, April 3, 2008". www.bishop-accountability.org.
11. Latos, Allison (March 9, 2017). "9 Investigates: Charlotte family speaks out about son's abuse by a priest". WSOC.

External links

• Official website

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte
Bishops	Michael Joseph Begley John Francis Donoghue William G. Curlin Peter Joseph Jugis Michael Thomas Martin
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of St. Patrick Basilicas Basilica of Our Lady Mary Help of Christians Basilica of St. Lawrence Parishes St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country Church, Boone St. Matthew's Church, Charlotte St. Peter's Church, Charlotte Our Lady of Grace Church, Greensboro St. Mary Church, Greensboro St. Benedict Church, Greensboro St. Francis of Assisi Church, Jefferson Sacred Heart Church, Salisbury St. Philip's Church, Statesville
Education	Higher education Belmont Abbey College St. Joseph College Seminary High schools Charlotte Catholic High School Christ the King Catholic High School, Huntersville Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School, Kernersville
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35°3′22″N 80°48′50″W / 35.05611°N 80.81389°W / 35.05611; -80.81389

• 1982 establishments in North Carolina
• Religious organizations established in 1982
• Churches in Charlotte, North Carolina
• Franciscan churches in the United States
• Roman Catholic churches in North Carolina
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte
• Roman Catholic churches in Charlotte, North Carolina