Beehold: a sweet harvest at St. Matthew Catholic Church
Months after a beehive was discovered in the walls of St. Matthew Catholic, parishioners enjoy jars of honey to support the church’s ministries to address hunger
The following article appeared in the Aug. 27, 2025, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
A massive beehive discovered in the walls of St. Matthew Catholic Church has transformed into ‘Heavenly Honey’
FIRST HARVEST: Honey will continue to be bottled each summer from the beehives on the campus of St. Matthew Catholic Church (right).
What started as a buzzing surprise inside a south Charlotte church’s walls has turned into a sweet gift for parishioners: jars of “Heavenly Honey.”
Last November, The Ledger reported about a buzzy discovery on the St. Matthew Catholic Church campus in south Charlotte — a giant beehive with some 100,000 bees that had likely been congregating in the walls of the parish's New Life Center for upwards of 10 years.
Last fall, a local beekeeper extracted the colony, placed it in frames to form 10 separate colonies, and installed them on the church’s campus behind a tall metal fence designed to keep out predators. (The beekeeper also added other bee colonies to the St. Matthew colony.)
Last month, the fruits of the bees’ labor were extracted and bottled, and this weekend, St. Matthew parishioners were able to reap the results of the harvest. Bottles of the “Heavenly Honey” were made available after church services, with a $15 donation that will go to the church’s ministries to address hunger.
St. Matthew posted this YouTube video about “The Story of the Heavenly Honey” that features Jesse Holland, owner of Charlotte-based Bizzy Bee Honey, Hives and More, talking about the process of extracting the bees and harvesting the honey.
(The Ledger tasted the honey, and it is indeed divine.) —Cristina Bolling
Related Ledger article:
“A honey of a discovery at St. Matthew Catholic Church” (November 2024)
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