St. Thomas Aquinas Church (Palo Alto, California)

St. Thomas Aquinas Parish
St. Thomas Aquinas Parish
37°26′42″N 122°09′27″W
Location	751 Waverley Street Palo Alto, California
Country	USA
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.paloaltocatholic.org
History
Status	Parish church
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
Functional status	Active
Style	Carpenter Gothic
Completed	June 1902 (1902-06)
Administration
Province	Ecclesiastical province of San Francisco
Archdiocese	Archidioecesis Sancti Francisci
Diocese	Dioecesis Sancti Josephi in California
Deanery	Deanery 2
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
OCIA 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).

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

• Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California

External links

• Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish