St. Thomas Aquinas Church (Palo Alto, California)

St. Thomas Aquinas Parish
St. Thomas Aquinas Parish
37°26′42″N 122°09′27″W / 37.445030°N 122.157463°W / 37.445030; -122.157463Coordinates: 37°26′42″N 122°09′27″W / 37.445030°N 122.157463°W / 37.445030; -122.157463
Location 751 Waverley Street
Palo Alto, California
Country  USA
Denomination Roman Catholic
Website www.paloaltocatholic.org
History
Founded 1901 (1901)
Dedication Thomas Aquinas
Dedicated November 1903 (1903-11)
Events Feast Day of St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church (March 7, 1962 rubrics) · (January 28, 1969 rubrics)
Architecture
Status Parish church
Functional status Active
Style Carpenter Gothic
Completed June 1902 (1902-06)
Administration
Deanery Deanery 2
Archdiocese Archidioecesis Sancti Francisci
Diocese Dioecesis Sancti Josephi in California
Province Ecclesiastical province of San Francisco
Clergy
Bishop(s) The Most Rev. Patrick Joseph McGrath
Vicar(s) Rev. Fr. Thierry Geris
Dean Rev. Fr. Matthew D. Stanley
(St. Thomas Aquinas Parish)
Pastor(s) Rev. Fr. Matthew D. Stanley
Deacon(s) Dcn. Daniel Hernandez
Laity
Business manager Chuck Tully
Liturgy coordinator Nora Lundin
RCIA coordinator Jean Ramacciotti
Parish administrator Sandra Pedersen

Started in 1901 and completed in 1902, St. Thomas Aquinas Church is the oldest church in Palo Alto, California and is a registered historic landmark. Its distinctive Carpenter Gothic Victorian style makes it a signature building for the downtown area.

The church is located just three blocks south of University Avenue. At the corner of Waverley and Homer Avenues, it's at the northern edge of the historic "professorville" area of the city. The church was used as a location in the Hal Ashby film Harold and Maude (1971).[1]

St. Thomas Aquinas Parish also includes two other churches, Our Lady of the Rosary Church and St. Albert the Great Church, both also in Palo Alto. The three parishes, as well as St. Aloysius Church in Palo Alto and the Newman Center and St. Ann Chapel at Stanford University were merged into one parish in 1987. St. Aloysius was closed in 1994, the Newman Center at Stanford was reestablished as St. Dominic Parish in 1997, and St. Ann was sold in 1999.

As of the present St. Thomas Aquinas Church is the parish church of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, which also has two Chapels of ease.

See also

References

  1. ↑ A Walkable Tour of Homer Avenue
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