St. Ann was founded in 1839. However, the history of Catholicism in Greene County goes back to 1785. In that year, a representative of 70 Catholic settlers in the area sent an appeal to Bishop John Carroll of Philadelphia to have a priest to visit them at least once a year. Unfortunately, the bishop had no priests to spare and for over a decade the only time the local residents saw a priest was when one passed through the area on his way elsewhere.
In 1797, Rev. Patrick Lonergan from Northumberland County settled in Fayette County and began ministering to the Catholics of Fayette, Greene and Washington counties. In 1799 Rev. Lonergan moved to Waynesburg and on November 19 of that year purchased a lot of ground with his own funds. For two years he remained in Waynesburg, celebrating Mass in private homes. In poor health, he left Waynesburg in 1801. Before he left, he deeded the land to the Bishop of Philadelphia to establish a church. He died in Louisiana in 1804.
At this time, there may or may not have been a small log church on the land. Some histories state there was; others say that there was not. Whether or not there was a church, Waynesburg was periodically visited by priests from either Pittsburgh or Brownsville. In approximately 1829, work was begun on a brick church. Due to the small congregation, work progressed slowly. The church was finally completed and dedicated as St. Ann on July 28, 1839.
At this time, St. Ann was a mission of the church in Brownsville. A priest from that town visited Waynesburg about once a month to celebrate Mass. Due to the small congregation, the parish could not afford needed maintenance and routine repairs to the church. By 1852, the church was in such bad condition that it could no longer be used safely. For the next 17 years, Mass was celebrated in local private homes. Finally in 1869, work was begun on a new church. This church was completed in 1871 and dedicated on October 29 of that year.
In 1897, the parish became independent with the appointment of its first resident pastor. Over the years, the church has undergone several renovations, but this building continued to serve the congregation.
With the turn of the century, trends in the Diocese of Pittsburgh began to reveal a decline in Mass attendance and sacramental participation. At the same time, the number of priests available for parish ministry also began to decline.
To address these challenges, Bishop David Zubik announced on April 12, 2015 a new diocesan initiative, On Mission for The Church Alive!, a consultative strategic planning process designed to foster viable, sustainable and vibrant parishes. As part of this process, the Bishop, in consultation with the faithful, began to consider new models of parish life based on pastoral needs, financial and temporal resources and available clergy.
In 2018, following the period of consultation, parishes were grouped together and served by a single clergy team to eventually form one new parish.
During this transition period, St. Ann Parish remained an independent parish while sharing clergy and staff and eventually publishing a joint bulletin with the other parishes. This ended on July 1, 2019 when St. Ann Parish merged with the parishes of Our Lady of Consolation, Nemacolin; St. Hugh, Carmichaels; St. Ignatius, Bobstown and St. Thomas, Clarksville to form the new St. Matthias Parish. As part of the merger, St. Ann Church remains open as part of the new parish.
