Fr. Matt Solarz joined the Roman Catholic church in 2001, a convert from many years spent in the ELCA Lutheran tradition. A second vocation to the priesthood, he entered seminary in 2016 at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Hales Corners, WI.

He earned a BA in Religious Studies from Cardinal Stritch University, a Franciscan college in Fox Point, WI in 2020 and completed his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) at Sacred Heart in 2023. 

No stranger to rural ministry or evangelization on the margins, Fr. Matt began his seminary journey moving from his lifelong home in Ohio to join the Glenmary Home Missioners, an apostolic society in rural Appalachia. He discerned out of religious life in the missions to diocesan parish ministry in 2020 when he joined the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings. Fr. Matt often says with a smile that he traded one set of mountains (the Appalachians) for another (the Rockies). 

Before hearing his call to serve the Church, Fr. Matt spent his previous working career as a newspaper journalist, machine operator at Ford Motor Company, and as a retail manager in the furniture industry.

Prior to his assignment at St. Leo the Great, Fr. Matt was the associate pastor (parochial vicar) at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Sidney, MT (2023-2024) which included four smaller parishes in Lambert, Savage, Charley Creek and Fairview. He also serves as the Director of Second Vocations for the diocese, encouraging other men to respond to the Lord's call later in life. 

In his (extremely) limited spare time, Fr. Matt enjoys relaxing with a good cup of Peppermint Mocha, Cleveland Browns football, and learning how to fix and restore vintage Apple and Macintosh computers.