Cathedral Club

The Cathedral Club is a social and spiritual growth organization for adults 40 and up, hosting uniquely inspiring programs and events which celebrate the Holy Father’s Universal Call to Holiness while bringing sacred beauty and God’s enduring Grace to the spiritual, cultural and intellectual life of the Cathedral Parish and the surrounding communities of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

Meetings are held after the 11:30am Mass on the 2nd Sunday of the month in the West Conference Room. With the support of the Cathedral clergy, members provide spiritual support to one another. The Club occasionally organizes retreats and trips to the beach.

Program Goals

The organization seeks to structure, introduce and enhance a series of programs of interest ot our members that will benefit, enrich and empower our club socially, culturally, educationally and spiritually.

  • To foster, introduce and present speakers or panels on selected issues facing our church, community and city;
  • To engage, support, and convene a cadre of presenters who will address a number of specific local and national issues;
  • To arrange, encourage and involve our club members in visiting educational, recreational, cultural and religious places in the Metropolitan Washington area and elsewhere;
  • To assist our members in keeping a running account and pictorial book of the club’s programs and activities at a number of membership meetings;
  • To assist our president in the annual awards presentation to club members who have greatly contributed to our efforts, and to assist in presenting awards to outstanding speakers during the year;
  • To encourage participation as a group in our Parish Gala Dinner, Hospitality Sunday, our Open House, and other events during the year.

History

The Club was first founded to serve as a support community for men and women of the armed forces returning from World War II. In November 1947, Msgr. (later BIshop) John S. Spence formed a social group from the El Camino Real Convert Club and called it the St. Matthew’s Cathedral Club.

The Club made its home in the Cathedral’s Parish Center, 1814 N Street, NW, and for many years flourished as more young people joined the Club, whose main objective was to provide a means of companionship in a Catholic atmosphere. The Club grew to a membership of nearly 300, providing a multitude of activities, such as dance groups, aiding charitable organizations, dramatic and choral groups, language lessons, a bowling league, a leisure group for senior citizens, frequent travel to interesting places far and near, as well as may smaller units engaged in a myriad of pursuits.

As time went on, membership decreased as many people moved from the parish  area.  But, the Club managed to continue its major operations and perform its basic mission, always keeping alive the esprit de corps that was its hallmark from its inception. In 1997 the Cathedral Club marked its 50th anniversary.

Become a Member

Members need not be a parishioner of St. Matthew’s, but must be a member of a parish in the Greater Washington area and are expected to respect the Club’s standing as a dues-paying association with a particular commitment to the Cathedral as the seat of the Archbishop of Washington.

For more information, call the rectory at 202.347.3215.