St. Mary Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church of New London served a small mission in Flanders in the early years of the twentieth century. However, mill workers in the area, many of whom were of Slovak origin, were more comfortable using their own language. As a result, sacraments were sometimes administered in the home of the George Wino family by a priest from Bridgeport. As the population grew, services were held in Comstock Hall, at Flanders Four Corners, and later in the schoolhouse farther west on Boston Post Road.
The Catholic community decided in 1920 to establish their own church, to be named St. Matthias. Property was purchased from the Niantic Manufacturing Company and Frank Bruce in 1922, and the groundbreaking took place on May 4, 1924. A simple wood-framed building with white stucco siding and clear glass windows, typically New England in style, was dedicated in 1925.
Some in the community objected to having a Catholic Church in Flanders, and expressed their objections by burning a cross in front of the church. The minister of the neighboring Flanders Baptist and Community Church made clear that there was room for more than one denomination in Flanders, however, and there were no further incidents.
St. Matthias became a Parish in 1939 with the appointment of its first Pastor. In August of that year, a home on Boston Post Road was purchased for use as a rectory. Stained glass windows replaced the clear glass in the mid-1940s and major renovations to the building took place between 1968 and 1971. By 1988, however, it was clear that a new building was needed. Land was purchased three miles north of the original building, on Chesterfield Road, and a new building was dedicated on November 1, 1998.
November 1, 2018 marked the 20th Anniversary of the new church at 317 Chesterfield Road.
