A Romanesque Landmark in Old Pasadena
Standing at 311 N. Raymond Avenue in the heart of Old Town Pasadena, St. Andrew Roman Catholic Church is hard to miss. Its Romanesque bell tower and facade were designed in 1927 by architect Ross Montgomery at the inspiration of Monsignor John McCarthy, and they were deliberately modeled on the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, a building dedicated in 1123 on the left bank of the Tiber. The interior echoes the Basilica of Santa Sabina on Rome's Aventine Hill, with Corinthian-capped scagliola columns crafted by twentieth-century Italian artisans. The altar and baldachin are built of white Carrara marble, and above them a mural depicting the legend of St. Andrew was painted by Carlo Wostry, a Venetian artist descended from Italian mural painters of the Renaissance. The building is recognized as an extraordinary replica of Romanesque architecture and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Bilingual Liturgy: English and Spanish Side by Side
St. Andrew's is a genuinely bilingual parish. Weekday Mass is celebrated in English every Monday through Saturday at 8:15 a.m. and in Spanish Monday through Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Saturday Vigil Mass in English is at 5:00 p.m. On Sundays, Mass is offered in English at 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 5:00 p.m., and in Spanish at 6:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 2:00 p.m.
Confessions are heard Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. (during the Holy Hour), Friday at 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., and Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament takes place every Tuesday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the church, with a Holy Hour from 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. (9:00 a.m. and 7:15 p.m. on First Fridays). The English-language Divine Mercy group gathers for a monthly novena on the first Saturday of each month beginning at 6:30 a.m., and a Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help is prayed after the 8:15 a.m. Saturday Mass.
Pastoral Team
The parish is led by Fr. Marcos J. Gonzalez, Pastor. He is assisted by Associate Pastors Fr. Sebastian Josephraj and Fr. Carlos Eduardo Villasano, and by Fr. Paul Okello, who is in residence. Maria Teresa Capodieci serves as Director of Faith Formation, and Steven Ottomanyi is the Music Director. The parish school is headed by Principal Mrs. Licette Gonzalez.
Office hours at the Pastoral Center, located at 140 Chestnut Street, are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The phone number for the Pastoral Center is (626) 792-4183; the fax is (626) 792-4456. The school can be reached at (626) 796-7697.
St. Andrew Catholic School
Next door to the church at 42 Chestnut Street, St. Andrew Catholic School has been serving the Pasadena community since 1897 and now educates children from pre-kindergarten (age 3) through eighth grade. Its motto is "Nurturing Today's Learners into Tomorrow's Leaders." The school provides daily religion instruction, a robust sports program, a fine arts curriculum that includes a children's choir, and a unique visual arts partnership with the Armory Center for the Arts. Annual competitions in spelling, math, science, and robotics round out the academic program. St. Andrew graduates regularly matriculate at top Catholic and private high schools in Pasadena and beyond.
Sacraments for the Whole Family
St. Andrew prepares Catholics of all ages to receive the sacraments. Infant baptisms are celebrated after parents and godparents attend a pre-baptism class; classes alternate between English and Spanish on Tuesday evenings at the school.
First Holy Communion is a two-year program of weekly religious education for children in first through eighth grade, drawing on the Baltimore Catechism and the Go, Seek, Find sacramental series. The Confirmation program, also two years long, meets weekly on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. and is open to students entering eighth grade. The Elementary Faith Formation Program welcomes children with special needs.
Adults seeking full sacramental initiation enter the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), formerly known as RCIA. Classes meet weekly on Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. beginning in early September, walking inquirers through the periods of Inquiry, Catechumenate, Purification and Enlightenment, and Mystagogia, with the Sacraments of Initiation typically received at the Easter Vigil.
The parish celebrates weddings in the historic sanctuary and offers Anointing of the Sick and pastoral care to the homebound and to residents of area nursing and retirement facilities. St. Andrew holds an annual Memorial Mass on November 2, All Souls Day, for parishioners who have died.
Cultural Communities Within One Parish
St. Andrew's intentionally nurtures several distinct cultural communities under one roof. The Hispanic Ministry draws leaders from every Spanish-speaking group in the parish to meet monthly with the pastor. Spanish-language ministries include Adoración Nocturna (night adoration the first Friday of each month and Tuesdays from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.), the Sociedad Guadalupana (which organizes the annual feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a monthly breakfast), the Movimiento Familiar Cristiano (for couples), Encuentro Matrimonial, the Grupo de la Divina Misericordia (Thursdays 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.), and a prayer group that meets Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. in the chapel. Quinceañeras are celebrated in groups on the first Saturday of each month at 9:30 a.m.
The Filipino Ministry is an active presence at Mass as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and hosts annual celebrations of the Feast of the Divine Mercy, Simbang Gabi, and Salu Bang. The Black Catholic Association gathers members from parishes across the San Gabriel region - including Sacred Heart in Altadena, St. Elizabeth in Pasadena, St. Philip in Pasadena, and Assumption Parish - to share the African-American Catholic experience. Endow, a women's formation program, runs study groups using the Mother the Redeemer guide on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Liturgical Ministries and Music
Parishioners serve at the altar in a range of capacities. Boys in third grade and up can train as Altar Servers, while young men in high school and above can join the Knights of the Altar, a society whose members take on the role of Master of Ceremonies and gather regularly for spiritual, doctrinal, and social formation. Other liturgical roles include Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to the Sick, Lectors, Sacristans, Hospitality/Greeters/Ushers, and Bereavement Ministers. The parish maintains a Liturgy of the Word with Children, which gathers children after the Opening Prayer of the 11:00 a.m. Spanish Mass to hear the Gospel at an age-appropriate level before rejoining the assembly for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Music is central to St. Andrew's identity. Under Music Director Steven Ottomanyi, the parish choir, instrumentalists, and accompanists lead sung worship for the assembly. The parish also runs its own concert series - described below - that brings internationally known ensembles to Old Pasadena.
Charitable Outreach: St. Vincent de Paul and Family Promise
The parish's charitable work is organized in large part through the St. Vincent de Paul Conference, which provides food, clothing, utilities and rent assistance, and referrals to community services for the poorest and most marginalized neighbors who come to the parish. The Food Bank distributes basic food supplies along with donated clothing and shoes, and anyone is welcome to volunteer.
Since 2016, St. Andrew has also partnered with Family Promise SGV to provide temporary overnight shelter to homeless families within its own facilities. The parish's Family Promise Committee coordinates meals and hospitality, drawing on the parish's many ministries to support guest families as they work to regain stable housing. The Peace and Social Justice Ministry coordinates this work alongside a broader effort to educate parishioners on Catholic social teaching and to support long-term solutions to poverty.
Defending Life and Walking with the Mentally Ill
The Pro-Life Ministry keeps parishioners informed about abortion, contraception, and euthanasia, hosts speakers and lectures, and sponsors Baby Bottle Sundays for a local pregnancy help center. Members join community prayer vigils at a local abortion clinic and contribute to the archdiocesan Office of Life, Justice and Peace. The Mental Health Ministry offers a Spiritual Support Group for people living with mental illness and their loved ones, and periodically offers the Sanctuary Mental Health 8-Session Course for Catholics.
Parish Organizations
The Knights of Columbus Council #16832 brings together Catholic men of the parish for works of mercy and fraternity. The Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court St. Andrew #2792, was instituted in September 2023 as the newest CDA chapter in the San Gabriel region of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Members participate in the religious, charitable, and educational apostolates of the Church under the motto "Unity and Charity." The Young Adults Ministry meets every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Pastoral Center for Bible study and faith sharing, and organizes social events throughout the year. Girls with Grace (ages 13-18) and Girls with Goodness (ages 8-12) meet twice a month from September through May, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., to learn needlework, hospitality, and manners in a setting that nurtures the relationship between mothers and daughters. A Centering Prayer group meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 7:00 p.m. at the Pastoral Center.
The Restoration Committee and the Concert Series
After the earthquakes of the 1970s and 1980s revealed the cost of deferred maintenance on the historic building, parishioners formed a Restoration Committee to oversee careful preservation of the church. To fund the work, the committee launched what has become one of the most distinctive features of St. Andrew's: an annual classical music concert series. The flagship event is the Bach to Broadway Concert, now in its thirty-first year, which has supported restoration of the 1927 Deagan chimes, the baldacchino, Carlo Wostry's mural, the baptistery walls, the Stations of the Cross, the stained-glass windows, the choir loft, and many other elements of the building.
Beyond Bach to Broadway, St. Andrew hosts an unusually rich roster of choral and orchestral events. The Tallis Scholars, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the LA Children's Chorus, Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XXI, the Sterling Ensemble, Musica Transalpina, the Cappella Musica of Saint Andrew Church (with the Benedict XVI Institute), and the Guerra String Orchestra under Yalil Guerra have all performed in the sanctuary. Recurring parish concerts include the Holiday Choral Concert and a Christmas concert featuring Pueri Cantores SGV. The Concert Committee, chaired by Ms. Jerilyn McAniff, organizes these events.
The Piazza and a Place to Gather
Adjacent to the sanctuary, Piazza San Italian Ann offers an Italianate garden of fountains, olive trees, and cypress hedges available for rent for small dinners and cocktail parties. Seated dinners accommodate up to 75 guests; cocktail receptions up to 150. The layout does not allow a dance floor, so wedding receptions are not recommended, but the piazza is well suited to the dinner following a wedding rehearsal. The rental fee is $1,000 ($500 non-refundable deposit, $500 due ten days before the event), and includes tables, chairs, a catering kitchen, microphone, sound system with iPod connection, and ample parking.
Visiting St. Andrew's
The church sits just north of Old Town Pasadena and is easily reached from the 134 and 210 freeways. From the Memorial Park Gold Line station, head west one block on Holly, turn right on Raymond, and walk three blocks north; Pasadena Memorial Park will be on the right. From Colorado Boulevard and Raymond, walk north on Raymond for four blocks. Parking is ample on site.