St. Philip the Apostle: A 1921 Parish in the Heart of Pasadena
Tucked into the corner of South Hill Avenue and Green Street, St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church sits in the heart of Pasadena, California. The parish's own story begins on February 1921, when Bishop John C. Cantwell of what was then the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles established it to serve the growing neighborhoods between Mountain Avenue, Rosemead Boulevard, Huntington Drive, and El Molino Street. The first Mass was celebrated on March 1, 1921, in a rented hall above the East Side hardware store on Colorado at Chester. Its first pastor, Fr. Daniel O'Connell, secured an acre of ground at Hill Avenue and Division Street (later renamed Cordova Street) and hired the architect John C. Austin to draw plans for the original church, which Bishop Cantwell dedicated on January 29, 1922.
In 1926, a princely gift of $25,000 allowed the parish to purchase additional property through to Holliston and to found the parish school. The Sisters of Charity of the BVM came to staff it, and in September 1927 fifty pupils were enrolled in the new school building. The earliest ministries to grow up around the school were the Altar Society and the school's Mother's Guild, two groups whose names hint at how closely the parish has always tied its liturgical life to its family life.
After the years of depression and war, a committee of parishioners joined the second pastor, Fr. Thomas O'Regan, to plan a much larger church. The cornerstone of the present church was laid in 1950. The façade was designed by the prominent master architect Roland Coate and incorporates the celebrated mosaics of John Henryk de Rosen. Later pastors expanded the campus through the 1960s and 1970s with new school buildings, a rectory, and a parish center. Monsignors William North, Carl Gerken, Clifford Parker, and Gary Bauler shaped mid-century parish life: North shepherded the changes of Vatican II, Gerken developed the music program, Parker established the RCIA program and strengthened the school's academics, and Bauler fostered a dynamic parish school with a lay school board, an annual giving campaign, and an endowment fund, plus a new organ. Fr. Joe Moniz, the seventh pastor, retired in 2018 after twenty years of service during which a meditation garden, new school buildings, Holy Angel Hall, a church restoration, and a new baptistery were all completed. Fr. Tony Gomez, the parish's eighth pastor, arrived on July 1, 2018.
Seven Sunday Masses in English and Spanish
The parish's weekend rhythm is unusually wide. Saturday brings a daily Mass at 8:00 am and the Sunday Vigil at 5:00 pm. Sunday itself runs to seven Masses: 7:00 am, 9:00 am (livestreamed), 10:45 am, 12:30 pm in Spanish (livestreamed), 5:00 pm, and 7:00 pm. The 7:00 pm Mass is the Sunday Candlelight Mass, hosted by the Newman Center for college students and young adults. Each Sunday gathering has its own musical character: the 9:00 am parish Mass features traditional and contemporary liturgical music; the 10:45 am Mass is led by a 25-voice four-part choir with the pipe organ; and the Candlelight Mass is led by a 10- to 12-person young adult choir drawing on Gregorian chant and four-part hymnody.
Weekday Mass, Adoration, and Reconciliation
Daily life at the parish centers on the Eucharist and on extended time with the Blessed Sacrament. Weekday Mass is offered Monday through Friday at 7:00 am and 12:05 pm, with the noon Mass livestreamed for those at home or at work. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is offered Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:00 am to noon, and again Monday through Friday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. About half an hour before the 12:05 pm weekday Mass, parishioners gather to pray the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and the Angelus.
Confession is heard Monday and Tuesday from 5:00 to 6:00 pm, and Wednesday from 5:00 to 7:00 pm with a Spanish-speaking priest available. Confession at other times is available by appointment through the parish office.
The Seven Sacraments
St. Philip celebrates and prepares all seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. Baptism classes are held in English on the fourth Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm inside the church, and in Spanish on the second Friday of the month at 7:00 pm in Parish Center Room B. English baptisms are scheduled on the fourth Saturday of the month at 10:00 am and Spanish baptisms on the second Saturday at 10:00 am. The parish office asks that at least one parent be Catholic and willing to raise the child in the Catholic faith, and that godparents be baptized and confirmed Catholics who have received First Communion.
Penance, or Reconciliation, is described by the parish as a joyful reunion with the Father: "When you confess your sins sincerely, with true sorrow and resolution not to sin again, God rejoices." First Communion is generally received through the parish's Religious Education program, and Confirmation is offered both as a teen program for eighth through twelfth graders and as an adult program. Matrimony is prepared over a minimum of six months, with couples meeting with the pastor and priest staff during that time. The Anointing of the Sick can be arranged for anyone struggling with illness or frailty by calling the Parish Center; priests also visit the homebound through the Ministry of the Sick.
Adult Faith Formation: OCIA and Adult Confirmation
Adults who want to explore or complete Catholic initiation gather for OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. Led by Arthur "Tri" Fritz, MaT, the program meets on Sundays from 9:00 to 11:00 am in the Landa Room of the Parish Center. Classes for the 2026-2027 cycle begin August 16, 2026, and conclude at the Easter Vigil in 2027, when participants receive Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation and enter full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. The fee is $150 for books and materials. A Spanish-language track is available; inquiries can be directed to Mayra at (213) 924-5757 or ocia_es@stphiliptheapostle.org.
For baptized Catholics who have already received First Communion and wish to complete their initiation through Confirmation, the parish offers an Adult Confirmation program coordinated by Fr. Tony Gomez, the pastor, and Tri Fritz. Classes meet on Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in the McCone Room.
Religious Education and Teen Confirmation
St. Philip's Religious Education program serves parish children in two weekly options: Tuesdays from 4:00 to 5:30 pm (beginning September 29) and Saturdays from 1:00 to 2:30 pm (beginning October 3). The fee structure runs from $125 for one child down to a discount for larger families, and children who have already received First Communion continue their formation for $40. Susie Lopez, the Coordinator of Religious Education, keeps office hours Monday and Thursday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Tuesday 11:00 am to 6:30 pm, Wednesday 1:30 to 5:00 pm, and Saturday noon to 3:30 pm. Confirmation for teens in eighth through twelfth grade is run by Christina May, and each summer the parish hosts Vacation Bible School for children in transitional kindergarten through fifth grade.
Newman Pasadena and the Sunday 7 PM Candlelight Mass
On the campus of St. Philip, the Newman Center serves college students and young adults from Pasadena City College, Caltech, Fuller Theological Seminary, and other area campuses. The center opens Monday through Friday from noon to 6:00 pm as a drop-in space for studying, coffee, and snacks. Its flagship gathering is the Sunday 7:00 pm Candlelight Mass, described by the parish as drawing from a 1,200-year treasury of Catholic music that includes Gregorian chant and four-part hymnody, sung by a young adult choir and accompanied by the pipe organ. The 7:00 pm Mass has American Sign Language interpretation, which the parish describes as helping "make the beauty of the liturgy more accessible to members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community." College students and young adults serve as lectors, altar servers, sacristans, musicians, and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.
Fellowship follows the Mass. Warmer months bring a wine and cheese social on the patio most Sundays. The Newman Center's reach extends to specialized groups: Caltech Catholics offers a weekly graduate-student book study and undergraduate Bible study as well as a quarterly "Science and Faith on Tap" series; PCC Catholics meets weekly on campus, holds rosary-making events, and offers service opportunities through the LancerLife student club; Fuller hosts a quarterly "Psychology and Faith" discussion. Each May, the archbishop's Baccalaureate Mass gathers college and graduate students from across the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Music Across Three Sunday Choirs
Music is a defining feature of parish worship. The 9:00 am Sunday Mass features a mix of traditional and contemporary liturgical music on piano, coordinated by Music Coordinator Rachelle Smith. The 10:45 am Mass is led by the parish's main choir, a four-part ensemble of more than twenty-five singers specializing in traditional hymnody and anthems, with the pipe organ. Rehearsals are Thursday evenings at 7:30 pm under Choir Director Nicole Baker, and no prior experience is required. The 7:00 pm Candlelight Mass is led by a young adult choir drawing on the same 1,200-year repertoire under Daniel Park, with rehearsals at 6:30 pm Sunday just before Mass. The parish also welcomes musicians and ensembles of all kinds to apply to use the sanctuary, the Newman Center, or the outdoor patio for concerts in keeping with the parish's reverent character.
Caminando con Propósito: Walking with Purpose and Other Women's Groups
Women's faith formation has long been a strength of the parish. Walking with Purpose, the parish's women's Bible study, meets in the Landa Room, with a new Bible study beginning in the fall. The study aims to enable women "to know Christ personally through Scripture." Present Over Perfect is a smaller women's small faith community described as "catching our breath, connecting with each other, and spending time relaxing in God's grace," meeting in a parish member's home on the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm. The Fil-Am Ministry also brings women together, including through the parish's novena practice and other Filipino Catholic traditions. The parish also maintains a Mother's Novena of Masses each May around Mother's Day, where the names of mothers are submitted so that Masses may be offered up for their intentions.
Ministerios en Español
The Spanish-speaking community at St. Philip has long been served by a Sunday Misa en Español at 12:30 pm and a robust set of ministries. Grupo Guadalupano promotes devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe and practises charity through apostolic works, meeting on the second Sunday of the month. Lupitas is a Spanish-language small community for women that meets Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm with a focus on Scripture and "descubriendo a Jesús." Quinceañeras prepares young women and their families for the Mass of Thanksgiving that accompanies their celebration, helping them understand the meaning of the Mass and their baptism as part of the Mystical Body of Christ. During the 12:30 pm Mass, the Liturgia de la Palabra para nuestros niños gives school-age Spanish-speaking children the chance to celebrate the Liturgy of the Word in their own language. Confession in Spanish is offered Wednesday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, and Spanish baptism classes and ceremonies are scheduled separately. The ministry Assisting Children also operates its work in Spanish through Caridad.
Knights of Columbus, Serra Club, and the Filipino-American Ministry
The Knights of Columbus council at St. Philip gathers on the second Thursday of the month, mostly in the Parish Center. The council is a Catholic fraternal order committed to charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism, supporting the Church and local community with an emphasis on strengthening members in the Eucharist. The Serra Club of Pasadena, a chapter of Serra International, promotes vocations to the religious life and offers its members continuing formation in the faith, encouraging clergy and religious in their vocations. The Filipino-American Ministry, a faith-centered community rooted in Filipino culture and Catholic tradition, gathers on the first Saturday of the month. The parish has hosted Simbang Gabi over nine evenings leading to Christmas, an English-language celebration of the Filipino Advent novena tradition that drew the wider parish into the devotional life of the Fil-Am community.
Service to the Neighbor
Service to those outside the parish walls has long been a defining mark of St. Philip. The Assisting Children Ministry has been supporting the Pasadena and Los Angeles community since 1997, providing one thousand to two thousand food bags at Christmas and helping about 150 to 300 families in Tijuana and Ensenada each Christmas with food bags, new toys, blankets, and a "Back to School" supply of backpacks, supplies, shoes, uniforms, and tuition support. Nowhere to Rest His Head, sometimes called NTRHH, is a small group of volunteers who provide soup, coffee, and a bagged lunch with snacks to the local homeless population every Saturday morning. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference at St. Philip helps parishioners and others through temporary hardships with food, short-term financial assistance, and referral to long-term agencies such as Catholic Charities. Its events include twice-yearly "Bucket, Bundles, and Burritos" breakfasts after Masses and a Thanksgiving meal partnership with the parish school. The parish has also sent mission groups to Kingston, Jamaica, to serve with Mustard Seed Communities.
Healing, Bereavement, Nourish, and Respect Life
The Healing Prayer Ministry gathers on the third Sunday of the month after the 9:00 and 10:45 am Masses in the Respect Life Garden area to pray for physical, emotional, or spiritual healing. Bilingual Healing Masses are scheduled several times a year in English, Spanish, or both, with individual prayer teams available afterward. The Bereavement Ministry walks with parish families through the funeral liturgy, music, and other needs in their time of grief. Nourish for Caregivers offers Christ-centered emotional support to those caring for aging parents or other family members and meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm in the Parish Ministry Center. The Respect Life Ministry serves to open hearts and minds to God's gift of life, supporting parishes and the parish school in deepening faith in the Gospel of Life from conception to natural death.
Scouts, PTO, Sunday Cinema, and Friends in Faith
Cub Scout Pack 131 and Boy Scout Troop 131 make their home at the parish, with scouting open to any boy who is a member of the parish, regardless of which school he attends. Girls in kindergarten through twelfth grade are welcomed through the parish's Girl Scout troops, with membership focused on character, leadership, and service. The Parent Teacher Organization links parents to the school, building community through the school families' faith and service. The parish's Book Club meets periodically to read and discuss books with religious themes. On the first Sunday of each month, Sunday Cinema shows a Christian-themed film at the Newman Center at 6:30 pm with free popcorn and a chance to discuss the movie afterward. Friends in Faith, coordinated by Laura Moster, is the parish's signature small-group ministry, organized as small communities that meet in homes and other settings to grow in faith together.
Concerts in the Sanctuary
The parish regularly opens its sanctuary to musical gatherings that reflect the beauty, reverence, and richness of music that "delight the ear but also elevate the spirit." Recent concerts include the Impossible Quintet, which presented Schubert and Getty in the spring, and the Caltech Octech ensemble. The parish actively welcomes musicians, ensembles, and community groups to use the sanctuary, the Newman Center, or the outdoor patio for concerts, recitals, and other musical events in keeping with the parish's mission.
St. Philip the Apostle School
St. Philip the Apostle School, located at 1363 Cordova Street, provides a child-centered learning environment that meets the spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical needs of each child. The school integrates Catholic values with high academic standards, embraces an appreciation of diversity and mutual respect, and seeks to inspire each student to adopt his or her unique role as a Child of God. The student body has grown to over 550 pupils across the elementary grades. Jennifer Ramirez, the school's contact, can be reached at (626) 795-9691 or jramirez@stphiliptheapostle.org.
Visiting St. Philip for the First Time
The parish warmly invites first-time visitors. Newcomers are asked to contact the parish office at (626) 793-0693 between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm on weekdays, or to stop by in person to learn more about sacraments, faith formation, becoming a parishioner, or joining a ministry. Parishioner registration forms are available in English and Spanish and can be emailed back to CPartida@stphiliptheapostle.org. The parking lot entrance is on South Holliston Avenue between Cordova Street and East Green Street, with a smaller lot in front of the ministry building. Visitors are encouraged to come as they are: in summer, sandals, shorts, and a shirt are common attire, while others prefer their Sunday best; the only request is that shorts be of a conservative length. Children are very much welcome in church. Visitors who are not Catholic are invited to follow along with the rest of the assembly, with lyrics and Scripture projected on screens, and are asked not to receive Communion; those who come forward with arms crossed over their chest receive a spiritual communion and a blessing.