St. Thomas Aquinas Parish

Mission Statement:  
St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Palo Alto, CA is a Roman Catholic community of disciples working together for the glory of God and our spiritual growth in Jesus Christ. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we live and share the Gospel through worship, education and service.    

Welcome to the St. Thomas Aquinas Parish website. We are three churches in one parish in Palo Alto, CA.

Our three church sites are:
Our Lady of the Rosary Church
3233 Cowper St., Palo Alto, CA 94306
St. Albert the Great Church
1095 Channing Ave., Palo Alto, CA  94301
St. Thomas Aquinas Church
751 Waverley St., Palo Alto, CA  94301

Our office and Mailing address is:
St. Thomas Aquinas Pastoral Center
3290 MIddlefield Rd., Palo Alto, CA  94306

We are part of the Diocese of San Jose.

_____________________________________________________________________

As parishioners with the “Angelic Doctor” as a patron, we hear the name St. Thomas Aquinas often enough, but how many of us really know that much about this great and holy Doctor of the Church? Let’s go over some bullet points so that we may get more acquainted with Aquinas.
                St. Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican Friar, born around the year of 1224, and a student of Saint Albert the Great. As a philosopher and theologian, St. Thomas was highly influenced by St. Augustine and Aristotle but wove their doctrines into something totally new, starting a school of thought which came to be known as Thomism. Being the author of many influential books such as the Summa Theologiae, (a Summary of Theology), Summa Contra Gentiles (an argument against non-believers), and the Disputed Questions on Truth, he is cited in the Catechism of the Catholic Church sixty-one times! Not only was he a great philosopher and theologian, but also a poet. He wrote hymns that we still sing often as faithful Catholics such as Panis Angelicus and Adore Te Devote. When we have Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction we sing O Salutaris Hostia and even on Holy Thursday we sing Pange Lingua and Tantem Ergo when we are in procession with the Holy Eucharist.
                It’s truly difficult to over hype this great saint and his influence on the modern church. He’s the patron saint of booksellers, schools, universities, teachers and students. We’ve not even scratched the surface of this great Saint, so to learn more please check out the podcast, Pints With Aquinas or head on over to thomisticinstitute.org to learn more about Thomism.
                Inspired by our parish patron, let us join in prayer on his feast day,  and ask his intercession as we grow in faith and knowledge of God as a parish.
 

Friday January 28^th , Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 12:15pm

For more updates on coronavirus from the diocese of San Jose, see their website:
https://www.dsj.org/coronavirus/

• Office for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults

• Financial Mismanagement; Building & Safety