St. Matthias Church is a Catholic Christian community nestled in the Emerald Hills area of Redwood City. Founded in 1961 by Fr. Thomas Lacey and associate pastor, Fr. Donald Casella, who knocked on doors, organized a teen club, and raised funds, the parish that we all hold so dear would not be here today. Together, Fr. Lacey and Fr. Casella, and the lay people who joined their efforts, laid a firm foundation upon which St. Matthias has thrived and overcome many difficulties. They made it possible to celebrate our 60th anniversary in September of 2021 with former and current parishioners, staff, friends and well-wishers.

Our parish community includes about four hundred registered families. We feature many adult, intergenerational and family-based faith formation programs for seekers at all stages of faith development and all walks of life. We also have a full-day, year round, Catholic Preschool.

As we reflect back on the first sixty years of St. Matthias, we recognize three distinct periods of our history. First, the early period which was filled with the hustle and bustle of convincing our Catholic neighbors to migrate from the parishes of Mt. Carmel, St. Charles, and St. Pius, to form a new parish in the Emerald Hills area of Redwood City. Through to the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of 1986 which was a meaningful retrospective of all that had been accomplished. The next twenty-five years included an Archdiocesan effort to consolidate and close parishes, which St. Matthias resisted. The Church building underwent its first renovation, and people underwent a spiritual renovation experienced through the RENEW program. Up to this most recent period in our parish history, the last ten years since our fiftieth anniversary where our community has weathered storms, changing leadership, and the COVID-19 global health pandemic. Through all these years, parishioners have stayed strong and committed to maintaining and growing our warm, welcoming parish community which is rooted and grounded in the love of Jesus Christ.

St. Matthias is a Roman Catholic Community striving to respond to the call of Jesus through worship and sacraments, faith formation, service & social opportunities. Under the guidance of the pastor and pastoral staff, we seek to strengthen current lay leadership and develop and empower new leadership. Although a small parish, we commit ourselves and parish programs to hospitality, generosity to those in need, and outreach to all those seeking a faith community. As Catholics, we recognize the many challenges facing the Church but we trust in the Holy Spirit to guide us into the future.

The Synod on Synodality is a three-year process of listening and dialogue beginning with a solemn opening in Rome on October 9 and 10, 2021 with each individual diocese and church celebrating the following week on October 17. The synodal process will conclude in 2024. Pope Francis invites the entire Church to reflect on a theme that is decisive for its life and mission: “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.” This journey, which follows in the wake of the Church’s “renewal” proposed by the Second Vatican Council, is both a gift and a task: by journeying together and reflecting together on the journey that has been made, the Church will be able to learn through Her experience which processes can help Her to live communion, to achieve participation, to open Herself to mission."

Learn more about the synodal process by visiting the Vatican Synod website.