St. Thomas Aquinas Church (Palo Alto, California)

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St. Thomas Aquinas Parish
St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 751, Waverley Ave., Palo Alto, CA 5-27-2012 5-35-22 PM.JPG
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St. Thomas Aquinas Parish
37°26′42″N122°09′27″W / 37.445030°N 122.157463°W / 37.445030; -122.157463 Coordinates: 37°26′42″N122°09′27″W / 37.445030°N 122.157463°W / 37.445030; -122.157463
Location751 Waverley Street
Palo Alto, California
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  USA
Denomination Roman Catholic
Website www.paloaltocatholic.net
History
Status Parish church
Founded1901 (1901)
Dedication Thomas Aquinas
DedicatedNovember 1903 (1903-11)
Events Feast Day of St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church January 28,
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Style Carpenter Gothic
CompletedJune 1902 (1902-06)
Administration
Province Ecclesiastical province of San Francisco
Archdiocese Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco
Diocese Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose 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
RCIA coordinator Jean Ramacciotti
Parish administratorSandra Pedersen
Location in Palo Alto

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.

Contents

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 neighborhood 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

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