Father Mattingly celebrates 25 years of priesthood
A self-termed “mid-life crisis” as he neared age 30 led to Father Thomas E. Mattingly to pursue a vocation to the priesthood.
The priest, who celebrated his silver jubilee on June 7, had been working as an accountant for about eight years when he applied for formation.
“I enjoyed being an accountant, and that was very lucrative, but I really started considering where my heart was,” he recalled.
The priest grew up in the Diocese of Cleveland. At age 5, his home parish was split to accommodate the area’s growing Catholic population. He said that this family was “very involved in getting the new parish off to a good start.”
“We began having Mass in a public school, and we had to set that up every Sunday morning in order to have Mass,” he said. “And then as we started to build, we were having festivals and fundraising for a new building, and we were part of that.”
Father Mattingly said he first considered priesthood after receiving his first holy Communion when he began altar serving.
“Then the Church changed,” he said, referencing Vatican II and Church reforms, “so (priesthood) just got put on the back-burner. But I started thinking of my options when I was 30, and again it came to the fore. So, I don’t think it died, I just think it was sort of dormant.”
Impressed by diocese, bishop
While the call to priesthood was waiting quietly within him, Father Mattingly earned an associate degree from a community college. He began working as an accountant and earned his bachelor’s degree.
In 1983, he moved to Richmond for a corporate accounting job.
“When I moved to Virginia, I was really impressed by the diocese,” Father Mattingly said.
On the second weekend following his move to Richmond, Father Mattingly met Bishop Walter F. Sullivan, who had come to St. Benedict, Richmond, where the future priest was singing in the choir.
“I was able to talk to him, and I was very impressed because I had never really talked to a bishop before,” he said. “And I was even more impressed when, several months later, I met him again and he remembered my name. Bishops didn’t do that much back then.”
At that time in his life, Father Mattingly was “reassessing what I wanted to do with my life,” and he learned that his heart was in ministry.
“I was involved in (ministry) at St. Patrick’s Church in Churchville,” he said. “The pastor at the time was Father (Pat) Apuzzo, and he had a big part in the renewal I felt in my faith.”
Father Mattingly recalled the large parish in which he had grown up: “It was just ‘get in line’ … and I don’t know that I ever really engaged my faith. I was kind of just another face in the crowd.”
In the Diocese of Richmond, however, the priest said he “discovered what I’d been missing in the Church. Through no fault of the Church, it was my fault. I really started engaging my faith in a more practical way as an adult, and that was really attractive to me.”
Moved by need for priests
While he was discerning, Father Mattingly said he had also realized “there was such a need for priests.”
“We were really coming to terms with the lack of seminarians going into priesthood… that definitely was a factor. I wanted to make sure the priesthood continued, that we had the people to serve the diocese,” he said. “And in fact, I was the only one ordained the year that I was ordained.”
Father Mattingly applied for formation, and attended St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois, where he concurrently earned a Master of Divinity and a bachelor’s in sacred theology.
He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Richmond on June 7, 1997, at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Richmond.
His first assignment was parochial vicar of Church of the Holy Spirit, Virginia Beach (1997-1998). He received his first pastorate at St. Gerard, Roanoke, in 1998, and served there until 2003. He also served as pastor at St. John the Apostle, Virginia Beach (2003-2005); Blessed Sacrament, Harrisonburg (2005-2012); and St. Olaf, Williamsburg, since 2012.
“A big part of my ministry was multi-cultural ministry,” the jubilarian said.
While serving at St. Gerard, Father Mattingly was “on-the-job learning Spanish,” as the parish had recently welcomed a growing Hispanic community. He noted that the parish is traditionally African American, and there were also “a number of white parishioners,” so “I did a lot of experimenting on how to bring those communities together so we were not just sharing a space, but we were trying to share our lives together.”
The priest said although it was “a very stressful time” due to learning a new language and learning how to minister to different cultures, “it was very rich.”
Gathering with local priests regularly and meeting with African American ministers was also “really helpful as a new priest.”
While at St. Gerard, Father Mattingly was also assigned to the VA Medical Center in Salem, where he was “under the auspices of the Military Archdiocese, serving there on a part time basis as a Catholic chaplain.”
At St. Olaf, Father Mattingly said his administrative background has helped the parish build a church and commons.
“That’s a complicated process between secular and with the diocese and various committees there, so I’m very proud of the church we’ve built here.”
‘Love being a pastor’
After 25 years, Father Mattingly said of priesthood “it’s better” than he imagined it would be.
A major highlight of his life is celebrating Mass.
“I am just honored to be able to celebrate Mass almost every day,” he said. “That sense of awe of being able to serve as a priest within the Mass is amazing, and I’ve never gotten tired of it. Sometimes I just get tired, but I never tire of serving in this role. I love being a pastor.”
The jubilarian added that relationships between parishioners and between himself and parishioners are also very special.
“I love that people put trust in me, how they show they love me,” he said. “And I know it’s not just me. I know it is this connection I have as their pastor and a representative of Christ.”
For Father Mattingly, taking his vocation one day at a time has been key.
“One of the things that just overwhelms me as I look back is just how quickly it went, and I think that is common to many priests and, I imagine, married couples as well. You live it day-by-day, and yet it becomes a life,” he said. “I don’t know that there are big things that changed. The changes, for me, happened very gradually. And it is the day-by-day commitment that makes a vocation. I like to say that even the holiest lives that have ever been lived have been lived one day at a time… Our faithfulness is lived daily, and we strive and we have challenges and an overall commitment, but it takes flesh in every day.”