page_title: William Matthews (priest)
section_title: Georgetown College
hierarchical_section_title: William Matthews (priest) / Academic career / Georgetown College
caption_attribution_description: English: Old North Hall on the main campus of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
context_page_description: William Matthews, occasionally spelled Mathews, was an American Roman Catholic priest from the colonial Province of Maryland who became the fifth Catholic priest ordained in the United States and the first such person born in British America. He was briefly a novice in the Society of Jesus, and became influential in establishing Catholic parochial and educational institutions in Washington, D.C. He was the second pastor of St. Patrick's Church for most of his life and was the sixth president of Georgetown College, later known as Georgetown University. Matthews acted as president of the Washington Catholic Seminary, which became Gonzaga College High School, and oversaw the continuity of the school during suppression by the church and financial insecurity.
  Matthews was vicar apostolic and apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Philadelphia during a period of ecclesiastical turmoil. He was a co-founder and president of the Washington Library Company for thirteen years—the first public library in the District of Columbia—and was co-director and trustee of the District of Columbia Public Schools, where he was one of the superintendents of a school.
context_section_description: By 1806, Matthews had become vice president of Georgetown College, and by 1808, he had become a member of its board of directors, where he served until 1815. He was elected president on February 28, 1809, succeeding his uncle Francis Neale. On the same day that he became president, Matthews entered the Jesuit novitiate, which was highly atypical for someone of his age and position. Although working at the college, Matthews chose not to live there and instead moved into St. Patrick's Church.
  Soon after his election, Matthews became disillusioned with the Society of Jesus and quit the Jesuits on November 1, 1809, resigning the presidency of the Jesuit-run Georgetown at the same time. His uncle, Francis Neale, once again resumed the presidency of Georgetown. The Jesuits had been wary of accepting Matthews' full membership because he had been a member of the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen of Maryland, which considered itself a continuation of the Jesuits in America during the suppression of the Society of Jesus. After the Society was restored, there was friction between the Jesuits and the enduring Corporation. Matthews' relationship with Anthony Kohlmann, a subsequent president of Georgetown, was particularly difficult.
  Two of Matthews' pupils were Charles Boarman—the son of one of the college's professors, who left Georgetown College to join the Navy—and William Wilson Corcoran, who became the first president of Georgetown's alumni association in 1881. Under Matthews' presidency, the towers of Old North Hall were finally completed.
caption: During Matthews' presidency, the towers of Old North Hall were completed.
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