Pastoral visit to Randolph parish

RANDOLPH  The parish community of St. Matthew the Apostle here welcomed Bishop Kevin Sweeney during his pastoral visit July 25 where he celebrated the vigil Mass for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The history of St. Matthew’s began in 1988 with 87 families and Father David McDonnell, now pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Sparta, as the founding pastor. For six years, Masses were celebrated in the cafeteria of the Ironia Elementary School on Dover-Chester Road and the Senior Citizens Center on Calais Road. The church was built in 1994 and a new parish center was dedicated in 2002. The parish, which marked its 25th anniversary in 2013, presently serves some 1,200 families.