St. Matthias Church in 1951. The Gothic Revival church, built in 1883, served St. Matthias Parish for more than 80 years before the present church was constructed in the mid-1960s. (Photograph courtesy of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Archives)
St. Matthias Parish celebrated its 175th anniversary, marking nearly two centuries of Catholic life on Milwaukee’s southwest side.
The parish traces its roots to about 1845, when German Catholics formed a community known as Holy Cross. Bishop John Martin Henni formally established St. Matthias Parish in 1850, and its first church was dedicated the following year at a site known as Whiskey Corners.
As the community grew, a larger brick Gothic Revival church was built in 1883. It served the parish for more than 80 years before the present church was constructed in the mid-1960s and dedicated in May 1967.
Anniversary celebrations began Aug. 30 with Mass and a parish picnic and concluded Sept. 13 with a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.
