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1975
At the request of two local Catholics, a survey was conducted to determine the need for another Catholic parish on the southwest side of Atlanta, the closest two parishes at the time being Blessed Sacrament and St. George. The survey found 130 families (roughly 194 individuals) within a 6 mile radius, who would support either a mission or a parish in Fairburn. The possibility of renting space began to be explored under the direction of Fr. Jerry Hardy, the chancellor of the Atlanta diocese.
At the time, the nearest parish to Fairburn was Most Blessed Sacrament, which was served by the Missionaries of Our Lady of LaSalette. Fr. James Noonan, MS was the pastor and he and Fr. Hardy decided that a Fairburn location could be a mission of Most Blessed Sacrament. Bishop and Poe Funeral Home in Fairburn was willing to sell their facility to the archdiocese and would be large enough for the congregation to both gather and grow. Once the sale went through, the future parishioners began turning the funeral home into a functional mission church
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1978
The first Mass at the mission was celebrated on Sunday, June 4, 1978. The members of the mission voted on names for the new congregation and it was announced on August 22, 1978 that the name would be St. Matthew Mission (other options were St. Teresa of Avila or St. Frances Xavier Cabrini).
A pastoral council was formed to look after the day to day running of the mission, including the debt. A social committee developed to organize activities to get the parishioners together to get to know each other. A liturgy committee was formed to help with altar decorations, banners, lectors and Eucharistic ministers. Parents volunteered to be Sunday school teachers and classes were started that fall.
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1979
The first Bible School session was very active and successful that summer and the mission later went from one weekend Mass on Sundays to adding an additional weekday morning Mass and a Saturday evening vigil. On October 9, 1979, St. Matthew's Mission became St. Matthew’s Parish and the care of the parish was entrusted to the Missionaries of LaSalette, with Fr. Thomas O'Rielly, MS named as the first pastor of St. Matthew
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2000
The St. Matthew Parish was built in Tyrone and the Missionaries of LaSalette served the parish until August 2001 when the archdiocese accepted the parish back and appointed Fr. Victor Galier as the first diocesan pastor.
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