1840 to 1900 During the 19th century and part of the 20th century, Washington D.C. was part of the
Archdiocese of Baltimore. As the city continued to grow, Archbishop
Samuel Eccleston allowed Reverend
William Matthews and
parochial vicar Reverend John Philip Donelan to erect St. Matthew's Parish in that city. It was named after
Matthew the Apostle, who was the
patron saint of
civil servants. The first St. Matthew's Church was constructed at 15th and H Streets. While not yet completed, the church was dedicated on November 1, 1840. By 1890, the first St. Matthew's Church was no longer adequate for the needs of the parish. Monsignor Thomas Sim Lee in 1892 purchased a property on
Rhode Island Avenue, NW, for a new church. He hired the architect
Christopher Grant LaFarge, who had worked on the design of the
Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Devine in
New York City. The parish accepted LaFarge's design in 1893 and the
cornerstone for the new church was laid later that year. The first
Mass in the new St. Matthew's Church was celebrated on June 2, 1895. Eight years later, Pius XII erected a separate Archdiocese of Washington, with Saint Matthew's as the sole cathedral. Quezon had been in the United States leading the
government in-exile after the country was
occupied by the
Empire of Japan during
World War II. He was interred temporarily at
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, and after the war's end in 1945, his remains were flown home to lie in
his memorial. In 1957, a
solemn Requiem Mass was offered at the cathedral for U.S. Senator
Joseph McCarthy. In attendance were 70 senators and hundreds of clergymen, filling the cathedral to capacity. The cathedral drew worldwide attention following the
assassination of U.S. President
John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, in
Dallas, Texas. Cardinal
Richard Cushing,
Archbishop of Boston and a
Kennedy family friend, offered a said, (not sung) pontifical Requiem
low mass during his
state funeral at St. Matthew's. This was followed by a
funeral procession to Arlington National Cemetery. An inscription in the floor of the nave marks the occasion. For the interior of the cathedral, the mosaics and murals were all cleaned and restored as needed. Structural support issues in the ceiling were addressed and water damage was repaired. The electrical system was updated and new lighting installed. and House Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy. In August 2024, a Requiem Mass was held at the cathedral for
Ethel Kennedy, a human rights advocate and the widow of Attorney General
Robert F. Kennedy. It was attended by Joe Biden, as well as former presidents
Barack Obama and
Bill Clinton. In October 2025, a man was arrested outside of St. Matthew's on charges of processing a
Molotov cocktail and making threats to injure or kidnap people. The cathedral staff had previously obtained a
trespass order barring the individual from the cathedral grounds. ==Architecture==