Matthew (Matt) Hawkins was born on January 14, 1957. He is the son of Mabel and Alexander Hawkins, Sr. Matt has one older brother, Alexander, Jr. Saint Paul Cathedral in Oakland is Matt’s home parish. He attended Lemington Grade School and Saint Paul Cathedral Grade School, both in Pittsburgh before graduating from Churchill Area High School, Pittsburgh, in 1975. Matt graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1986 and received a Master’s degree in Applied History from Carnegie Mellon in 1994. Matt’s most recent employment was Director of the Literacy Center and teacher at Imani Christian Academy, Pittsburgh.

In the fall of 2014, Matt was accepted into the priestly formation program to begin pre-theology studies at Saint Paul Seminary and Duquesne University. He was then assigned to Saint Mary’s Seminary, Baltimore, where he has completed four years of theological studies, taking time out for summer assignments.

In the summer of 2016, Matt participated in the seminarian program of the Institute for Priestly Formation at the University of Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska. In June 2017, Matt began his pastoral year assignment at the Lawrence County parishes of Saint Joseph the Worker; Mary, Mother of Hope; Saint Vincent de Paul; and Saint Vitus in New Castle.

Matt was ordained to the diaconate on June 8, 2019, and assigned to Holy Spirit Parish in New Castle for his diaconate assignment.

Father Matthew Hawkins will celebrate his first Mass on Sunday, June 28 at 4 p.m. at Saint Paul Cathedral.

In speaking of his call to the priesthood, Matt says, “I grew up in an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) household and entered full communion with the Catholic Church in 1978. Through this experience, I hope to bring others into closer communion with the Catholic Church.

“Mine was a late vocation. I had been working in the field of community economic development and teaching history classes in higher education for more than 20 years before entering the seminary to discern my calling to the priesthood. I spent seven years in Eucharistic adoration and this, along with encouragement from parishioners, played a large role in my discernment process. I was also inspired by the often-overlooked ministry and example of Albino Luciani (Pope John Paul I). His infectious smile, his love of literature, and his compassion for the poor have always exemplified, to my mind, what a pastoral ministry should be.”

Addressing the unusual aspects of this year’s ordination, Matt noted that, “The pandemic, of course, has caught us all by surprise and many people have expressed their concerns about how it will affect my ordination but I cannot help but think about those who have lost their lives or lost loved ones, or have lost their jobs in the aftermath of the first wave of this crisis. The pandemic, the economic crisis, and the subsequent social unrest indicate to me that the very nature of the priesthood is to enter into solidarity with those who suffer, and that is really all of us, and to minister to humanity during unpredictable times. All times are unpredictable.

Fr. Hawkins was ordained to the priesthood on June 27. His assignment is Parochial Vicar at Saint Benedict the Moor Parish and Saint Mary Magdalene Parish.