In June, 1939, the Catholic Worker began its seventh year of publication. In that issue, Dorothy Day joyfully announced that throughout the United States, there were twenty-two houses of hospitality, two farming communities and thirteen cells where the ideas of the Catholic Worker movement were discussed and practiced daily. One of these houses of hospitality, called the Matt Talbot house, was located in the downtown area of Worcester, Massachusetts. The purpose of this article is to explore the formation, development and termination of the Matt Talbot house and its community. How did this group of diverse and conscientious Catholics come together? How did they understand the Worker philosophy of personalism? What were the tensions and transformations within the community? In what ways did this experience affect their lives and visions? Continue reading “A History of the First Catholic Worker Community in Worcester, Massachusetts, 1939-40”