Reverend Matthew Hawkins
Parochial Vicar
+1-407-422-2005 ext.8281Ordained to the priesthood in 2018, Father Matthew Hawkins is a convert from the Presbyterian faith. Born in Miami, he considers himself an Orlando native having moved at age seven. He found Catholicism while he was attending the University of Florida, after being invited to Mass by a friend. He admits, it was “not love at first sight,” baffled by the unfamiliar rituals and confused by the liturgy. He said, “…eventually that ideal I was searching for began to take form. He had a face. He had a name. It was Christ that I had always been searching for…”
He worked as an engineer for almost seven years until he felt God calling him “…to give Him an undivided heart.” He credits his family and their strong faith saying, “Vocations aren’t nurtured in a vacuum, but are often sown in the soil of a loving family.” Upon his ordination, he was appointed to St. James Cathedral Parish as parochial vicar.