About Welcome

Our Mission: To form loving disciples who will transform the world.

St. Monica Catholic Church, originally named Saint Monica Parish, was established in 1886 when Santa Monica was still part of Los Angeles County’s Ballona Township. Both the city and the church were named after Saint Monica, who was known for her Christian virtues, her perseverance through her husband’s adultery, and her devoted prayers for her son’s reform, Saint Augustine.

The parish was originally located on what is now the Third Street Promenade between Santa Monica Boulevard and Arizona Avenue. It was the only parish between Oxnard, Wilmington, downtown Los Angeles, and the ocean. Fr. Patrick Hawe served as the first resident pastor until 1923. The church flourished under his leadership; although he planned to build a larger church, he died on August 30, 1923, before realizing that goal.

Monsignor Nicholas Conneally succeeded Fr. Hawe as pastor and served until 1949. Soon after assuming pastoral duties, he moved his rectory to a house on Fourth Street and sold the original parish site, razing the old church. Until the present church was completed in 1925, services were held at a former Protestant church on Arizona and Lincoln, the site of today’s Santa Monica Boys Club. The new Saint Monica, described at the time as a “cathedral,” was dedicated by Bishop John J. Cantwell on July 11, 1926, at a reported cost of $340,000. Shortly thereafter, a new rectory was constructed. During this period of rapid growth, two schools were added. For Bing Crosby fans, the film Going My Way was inspired in part by Msgr. Conneally’s anecdotes about parish and school life and parts of it were filmed at St. Monica.

St. Monica Catholic Elementary School and St. Monica Catholic High School (not unified as Saint Monica Preparatory both trace their beginnings to 1899 when the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary opened a small elementary school (K–8) near the streets of 3rd and Arizona. Led by four Sisters under Fr. Hawe’s guidance, a high school was added in 1901 under the name Academy of the Holy Names. In 1930, the elementary school was renamed Saint Monica Parish Elementary School and relocated to its current site on 7th St. In September 1938, the Sisters agreed to sell the Academy and staff a high school at St. Monica—today’s St. Monica Catholic High School—led by five Sisters and two priests. The first graduating class had twenty students: seventeen girls and three boys.

Over time, the parish acquired additional land and built several new facilities, eventually occupying an entire city block bounded by Lincoln Blvd., California Ave., Washington Ave., and 7th St. The gymnasium, built in 1946, was fully renovated in 2012. The Upper School’s East Wing was constructed in 1958, and in 1961, a convent was built for the Sisters of the Holy Names. It was later converted into the Pastoral Center, which now serves as a Community Center. The original annex, built in the 1960s, gave way to the Trepp Center in the mid-1990s, and the Duval Center—named for Monsignor Anthony Duval, pastor from 1978–1986, was completed in 1998.

In January 1994, the Church suffered significant damage in the Northridge earthquake and closed until repairs were finished. During that period, Masses were held in the gymnasium. With perseverance, Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson’s leadership, and the devotion of staff and parishioners, the church reopened on Holy Thursday, April 13, 1995. Msgr. Torgerson continues to serve as pastor.

In 2007, St. Monica launched a $27 million capital campaign to address the needs of a growing congregation and to update its aging facilities. The Pastoral Center was demolished in late 2011 to make room for a new Community Center and Grand Pavilion. Construction began in January 2012, concluded in August 2013, and culminated in a grand opening celebration on November 3, 2013.