St Andrew's RC Church

St. Andrew's Parish traces its beginnings to the 19th century. The Catholic Directory first lists Westwood as a station at which Mass was celebrated in 1879.  In 1887 The "Old Drill Hall" on Washington Avenue, the current site of the American Legion Hall, was purchased as a mission church.  The structure, which contained 25 pews, was dedicated on June 17, 1888.  The following year on February 4, 1889, St. Andrew's was officially incorporated as a parish.
As the congregation continued to grow, it became evident that a larger church was needed. Located on Washington and Fourth Avenues, a new church with a seating capacity of 225, was dedicated October 8, 1905.
Providing a Catholic school education for area children was the next challenge for St. Andrew's Parish. A house on Washington Avenue was remodeled to serve grades 1-5 and also provided a home for the nuns who would staff the school.  The school opened on September 3, 1923, staffed by three Sisters of Charity. Eventually, a large brick building for grades 1 - 8 was constructed at the intersection of Washington and Irvington Avenues.  The school was dedicated on November 23, 1931 and an addition was completed 25 years later and opened on January 15, 1956.
The present church, featuring stained glass windows by the renowned French designer Jean Barillet, was dedicated on December 20, 1964 and later renovated in 1988.  Barillet has worked on some of the most famous stained glass windows in the world, including those of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.
The present Parish and Education Center rose out of the ashes of a devastating fire in 1998.  The rebuilt building was dedicated by Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick on September 9, 2000 and houses classrooms for religious education, administrative offices, a gymnasium, and a chapel.

• Rev. John R. O'Connell, Pastor
• Rev. Rafael Galvez-Pineda, Associate Pastor