Presbyteral Ordination

Matthew Holland Jewell was born in Houston on Aug. 1, 1995. His parents are Dennis and Frances Jewell. He has an older sister, Rebecca, and a younger sister, Miriam. He grew up in Angleton, where he attended Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church. He attended public schools and later graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.

During his time at Texas State, Matthew was a member of Our Lady of Wisdom University Parish, where he was an altar server and was active in various ministerial groups. He lived in the St. Paul’s Outreach household for three years. During these years at university, Matthew discerned religious/priestly life under the direction of Father Jonathan Raia, the diocesan vocation director at the time.

Matthew decided to enter seminary for further discernment at the Heart of Jesus retreat during his last year of college. He joined the Diocese of Austin as a seminarian in 2017 and proceeded to attend St. Joseph’s Seminary in Covington, Louisiana. There he earned another bachelor’s degree in philosophy with an emphasis in theological studies. He began major seminary at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston in 2019. It was at St. Mary’s, where Matthew believed that God had called him to become a priest. He was ordained to the transitional diaconate May 20, 2023, and recently completed his seminary studies and earned a master’s of divinity. His first assignment will be at Santa Cruz Parish in Buda.

I thank my parents and my sisters, first and foremost, for their love and support throughout my life. I thank the community of Texas State for their friendship and for showing me the beauty of living in the Church. I thank the community of Santa Cruz in Buda for their support and for receiving me as one of their own. I thank all the priests and religious who witnessed to me the way of the Gospel. In a special way, I thank each person who has ever prayed for me. Finally, I thank Bishop Joe Vásquez for his pastoral care over all these years and for believing in me.