About St. Thomas Aquinas · Palo Alto, California
St. Thomas Aquinas Parish is a Roman Catholic parish in Palo Alto, California, within the Diocese of San José. It is the oldest Catholic parish in the city, founded in 1901 and centered on the historic Carpenter Gothic St. Thomas Aquinas Church at 751 Waverley Street — a registered historic landmark. The unified parish is one community served across three worship sites in Palo Alto: the historic St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Our Lady of the Rosary Church (3233 Cowper Street), and St. Albert the Great Church (1095 Channing Avenue). The parish runs Faith Formation from kindergarten through high school, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA/RCIA) in both English and Spanish, youth and confirmation programs, the St. Vincent de Paul conference, a Hispanic Ministry, and a Pastoral Home Ministry, and supports the diocesan mission school, St. Elizabeth Seton School.
- Established
- 1901
- Patron
- St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church
- Rector
- Rev. Fr. Estanislao Mikalonis (current pastor; succeeded Fr. Matthew D. Stanley)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of San José in California
Why belong here
St. Thomas Aquinas is a unified parish of three Palo Alto churches serving a diverse, university-town community, offering Mass in English, Spanish, and Latin (Gregorian Chant). It runs sacramental preparation for children and youth, an OCIA/RCIA process for adults in both English and Spanish, vibrant youth programs (EDGE for middle school, Life Teen for high school, one8 for Confirmation), a Hispanic Ministry at Our Lady of the Rosary, a St. Vincent de Paul conference providing food and grocery cards, a Human Concerns Committee coordinating the Thanksgiving food drive, the CROP Hunger Walk, LifeMoves, and the Ecumenical Hunger Program, and a Pastoral Home Ministry that brings Communion and companionship to the sick and homebound. As a parish, they describe themselves as a community "to believe, belong, and become."
Mass times at St. Thomas Aquinas
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 11:30 AM – 12:10 PM at St. Thomas Aquinas Church
- Saturday 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM at St. Albert the Great Church
- By appointment with the priests
- Communal Penance Liturgies during Advent and Lent at the parish's three sites
Adoration times
- Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament — daily at the St. Albert the Great vestibule, 9:00 AM until sunset
Parish History
St. Thomas Aquinas Parish grew out of the small Catholic community of about 100 — mostly Irish — who worshipped in the "white house" at Lytton and Ramona at the turn of the 20th century. After fundraising, they built the Carpenter Gothic church at Waverley and Homer in 1901–02; it was dedicated in November 1903. Early pastor Fr. Joseph Gleason (1909–1928) brought intellectual and civic life to the parish, lecturing at Stanford and campaigning publicly for women's suffrage. The parish took its present form in 1987, when Bishop Pierre DuMaine merged St. Thomas Aquinas, Our Lady of the Rosary, St. Albert the Great, the Stanford Newman Center, and St. Ann Chapel into one combined parish; St. Aloysius was closed in 1994, the Newman Center became St. Dominic Parish in 1997, and St. Ann was sold in 1999. The church's centennial was celebrated in 2001.
- Founded 1901; first Mass June 4, 1902; dedicated November 1903
- Fr. Joseph Gleason, pastor 1909–1928 — historian, Stanford lecturer, women's suffrage advocate
- 1987 merger created the unified St. Thomas Aquinas Parish of three Palo Alto churches
- Centennial celebrated in 2001
- Oldest extant church building in Palo Alto
Architecture & Building
Designed by the San Francisco firm Shea & Shea, the church is a North American Carpenter Gothic adaptation of English Gothic Revival: pointed arches, steep gables, a prominent steeple, shiplap siding, stained-glass bays, parapets, quatrefoil windows, and carved rosettes, originally painted yellow. The interior is finished in lustrous redwood and yellow pine with a hammer-beam arched ceiling and 80 carved angels (70 of them cherubim); the art-glass windows were installed five months after opening, including a round Greer-family window of the patron. A 1,500-pound Ohio-cast bell sits in the belfry, and the 1928 parochial residence next door (745 Waverley) was designed by Edward Eames with builder L. A. Bachelder. The property is a Category 2 structure on the Palo Alto Historic Inventory.
- Style: Carpenter Gothic (Victorian Gothic Revival)
- Architects: Shea & Shea of San Francisco
- Steeple and pinnacles by the Dudfield Mill of Palo Alto
- Round stained-glass window of St. Thomas Aquinas (Greer family donation)
- Palo Alto Historic Inventory, Category 2
- Featured as a location in the 1971 film Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby)
Three Churches, One Parish
The unified St. Thomas Aquinas Parish worships at three sites in Palo Alto. The historic St. Thomas Aquinas Church (751 Waverley Street) is the parish church; Our Lady of the Rosary Church (3233 Cowper Street) is the center of the Hispanic Ministry and the Spanish Sunday Mass; and St. Albert the Great Church (1095 Channing Avenue) hosts the Saturday Vigil, the weekday 8:00 AM Mass, daily Eucharistic Adoration, and the Seton School Mass.
- St. Thomas Aquinas Church — 751 Waverley Street (historic parish church)
- Our Lady of the Rosary Church — 3233 Cowper Street (Hispanic Ministry center)
- St. Albert the Great Church — 1095 Channing Avenue (site of daily Adoration and Seton School Mass)
- Parish office — 3290 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306
Mass & Worship
Mass is offered in English, Spanish, and Latin across the three sites. The Sunday schedule at the historic church includes 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM (Gregorian Chant Latin Novus Ordo), and 12:00 PM English. Our Lady of the Rosary hosts a 9:00 AM Spanish Mass and a 10:30 AM English Mass. St. Albert the Great celebrates the 5:00 PM Saturday Vigil and 9:00 AM Sunday English Mass. Weekday Masses are offered at all three churches, with a Wednesday 8:15 AM school Mass at St. Albert the Great during the academic year.
- Sunday 11:00 AM — Latin Novus Ordo / Gregorian Chant (St. Thomas Aquinas)
- Sunday 9:00 AM — Spanish (Our Lady of the Rosary)
- Saturday Vigil 5:00 PM (St. Albert the Great)
- Daily 12:15 PM (St. Thomas Aquinas)
- Daily 8:00 AM (St. Albert the Great)
- Weekday 8:30 AM (Our Lady of the Rosary)
Faith Formation & Religious Education
Faith Formation at St. Thomas Aquinas serves children in grades K–5, middle school, and high school, with sacramental preparation for First Reconciliation, First Communion, and Confirmation. The director is Florence de Bretagne ([email protected], ext. 3). The parish also runs the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) in English and the Rito de Iniciación Cristiana de Adultos (RICA) in Spanish, welcoming adults seeking Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, or full reception into the Catholic Church, and preparing already-baptized Christians for reception into the Church as well as uncatechized Catholic adults for Confirmation.
- Faith Formation Director: Florence de Bretagne
- Programs for K–5, middle school, and high school
- OCIA (English) and RICA (Spanish) — led by Dcn. Daniel Hernández with Fr. Rolando Santoianni and Teresa Budzich
- Preparation for Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist for adults
Youth Ministry & Confirmation
The parish's youth apostolate, branded STAY (St. Thomas Aquinas Youth), reaches middle and high schoolers through three coordinated programs: EDGE for middle school youth, Life Teen for high school youth, and one8 as the Confirmation preparation track. Sessions include shared meals, faith-sharing, and service, with Confirmation preparation involving sponsors and parents.
- EDGE — middle school youth ministry
- Life Teen — high school youth ministry
- one8 — Confirmation preparation program
- Annual Kick-Off Potluck after the 6 PM Mass (in recent schedules)
Hispanic Ministry
Centered at Our Lady of the Rosary Church on Cowper Street, the Hispanic Ministry serves Spanish-speaking parishioners through a weekly Sunday 9:00 AM Mass, sacramental preparation, and outreach to immigrants and the disenfranchised, offering faith-based accompaniment and a vital community of welcome in the parish.
- Sunday 9:00 AM Spanish Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary Church
- Spanish-language RICA process
- Outreach and accompaniment for immigrant families
Pastoral Home Ministry
Pastoral Home Ministry offers spiritual and social support to the sick and homebound of all ages in the parish, visiting them, bringing Holy Communion, praying, listening, and helping them connect with the parish and other available services. The current chair is Mary Fong, reachable through the parish office at (650) 494-2496 ext. 6.
- Visits and Communion to the sick and homebound
- Prayer, listening, and connection to parish/community services
- Contact: Mary Fong, (650) 494-2496 ext. 6
Outreach & Charity
The parish's Human Concerns Committee and St. Vincent de Paul conference organize year-round outreach to the local community, including a Thanksgiving food drive for SVdP, participation in the CROP Hunger Walk, and collections of clothing and supplies for LifeMoves, the Ecumenical Hunger Program, the Lions Club, and Soles4Souls. SVdP volunteers provide weekly food assistance and grocery gift cards to low-income and unhoused individuals across the parish.
- St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) conference — weekly food assistance and grocery gift cards
- Thanksgiving food drive for SVdP
- CROP Hunger Walk participation
- Clothing and supply drives for LifeMoves and the Ecumenical Hunger Program
- Lions Club and Soles4Souls collections
Sacraments & Sacramental Life
The parish prepares the faithful for and administers the seven sacraments, including Baptism, Reconciliation, First Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony, Anointing of the Sick, and Holy Orders (through referral to the diocese). Weddings, Quinceañeras, and Funerals are coordinated by Patricia Cruzet, and the Anointing of the Sick is offered at scheduled parish celebrations.
- Weddings, Quinceañeras, and Funerals — Patricia Cruzet
- Anointing of the Sick — periodic parish celebrations
- Reconciliation — weekly Saturday schedule plus Advent/Lent communal services
- First Communion and Confirmation — through Faith Formation and one8
School — St. Elizabeth Seton
The parish's educational legacy lives on through St. Elizabeth Seton School (1095 Channing Avenue, Palo Alto), the diocesan mission school that originated as St. Thomas Aquinas School in 1950 under the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. The school merged with the parish's Our Lady of the Rosary School in 1978, was renamed for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and is now co-sponsored by the Daughters of Charity and the Diocese of San José as a Catholic Community School serving children from East Palo Alto and surrounding underserved neighborhoods, with 100% financial assistance and a Vincentian mission.
- Origin: St. Thomas Aquinas School (1950), run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
- Renamed St. Elizabeth Seton in 1978
- Co-sponsored by the Daughters of Charity and the Diocese of San José
- Located on the St. Albert the Great campus, 1095 Channing Avenue
- 100% financial assistance; Vincentian-Charity mission
Clergy, Staff & Parish Office
The unified parish is led by a pastor with parochial vicar and deacon support, alongside a team of lay staff coordinating faith formation, youth ministry, sacramental events, home ministry, and administration across the three worship sites. The parish office is at 3290 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306.
- Pastor — Rev. Fr. Estanislao Mikalonis (since 2018)
- Parochial Vicar — Rev. Fr. Rolando Santoianni
- Permanent Deacon — Dcn. Daniel Hernández
- Faith Formation Director — Florence de Bretagne
- Pastoral Home Ministry — Mary Fong
- Weddings, Quinceañeras, and Funerals Coordinator — Patricia Cruzet
- Parish office: 3290 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306 — (650) 494-2496, fax (650) 494-3780
Getting Involved & Community
The parish describes itself as a community "to believe, belong, and become." Beyond the sacramental and formation programs, parishioners gather at the annual parish picnic, communal Penance services during Advent and Lent, and ministry-led events that reach across generations. Registration is available through the parish website for those wishing to formally join the parish.
- Annual parish picnic and community events
- Parish registration via paloaltocatholic.net
- Ministry opportunities across three worship sites
- Active in Stanford-area ecumenical and interfaith collaborations
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Fr. Joseph Gleason1909–1928
Long-serving early pastor, historian and Stanford lecturer; prominent public supporter of women's suffrage.
- Rev. Fr. Matthew D. Stanley2010–2018
Also served as Vicar Forane (Dean) of the Palo Alto deanery; later pastor of Holy Family Parish and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in the Diocese of San José.