Father Arnold Lehman was named as the first pastor, and his rectory was a trailer on the church property. The first Masses were celebrated at the original Westside Businessmen’s Club, near the intersection of Odana Road and Whitney Way and, later, were celebrated in the studios of WMTV. The first church was dedicated on July 10, 1960. Until the completion of a six-classroom addition in 1966, religious education classes met in homes.

Msgr. Andrew Breines became the second pastor of Saint Thomas Aquinas on June 16, 1966. He implemented the reforms of Vatican Council II in liturgy and parish participation. Under his direction, a parish council and commissions were established.

Father John Flanagan became the third pastor on February 4, 1972. By this time, it had become apparent that the city of Madison had not developed as was envisioned at the time of the founding of Saint Thomas Aquinas. There had been no housing development south of Mineral Point Road and the University of Wisconsin had not developed three farms, which lay within the confines of the parish. Therefore, Saint Thomas Aquinas had never developed to the size that was projected. Father Flanagan directed a study, which led to the sale of the building and property on Rosa Road and then acquired land to construct the present facility on Everglade Drive. The new building was dedicated on August 13, 1976. In this new location the parish flourished, growing to nearly 1,000 families in the middle of 1985, and with a projection of nearly 1,800 families in the 1990’s. Father Flanagan suffered a serious heart attack in June 1984 and died at Saint Thomas Aquinas on January 25, 1985. Associate Pastor Father D. Stephen Smith led the parish until Father Donald Murray became Pastor on June 14, 1985. On June 15, 2001 Father (later Monsignor) Terrence L. Connors became Pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish. He was succeeded as Pastor on November 8, 2006, by Fr. Donn Heiar, the new Vicar-General of the Diocese of Madison.

With the rapid growth of the west side of Madison, Saint Thomas Aquinas’ membership grew significantly. With constant scheduling conflicts, shortages of classrooms and limited meeting space, Saint Thomas Aquinas was unable to expand programs and services, which would enrich our faith community. Therefore, the need for expansion and renovation was imminent. The proposed building plan, developed over eight years, was a comprehensive renewal and expansion of our parish facilities. The building expansion doubled the size of our space and now provides us room for our ministry to flourish. Included in the renovation was a new parish education center with multi-purpose rooms for religious education classes, adult enrichment sessions, Bible study groups and meeting space. Also, the social hall was expanded to hold 350 people for programs, 240 for meals that can be prepared in our renovated kitchen. The large space can also be partitioned so that two groups can meet simultaneously. In addition, the upstairs was remodeled with new toddler and infant nurseries, bride’s room and conference rooms. The downstairs was also renovated to space for a library, usher’s room, conference room and offices. Finally, the chapel was enlarged to seat 120 people for daily Masses, smaller weddings, funerals and other prayer services, and the gathering area was widened to more than twice the space for fellowship gathering and special liturgies. On August 29, 1999, Bishop William Bullock presided over the re-dedication ceremonies. Blessed with adequate space and the strengths developed by its Pastors and members, Saint Thomas Aquinas is looking forward to expanding services and programs to enrich the lives of our membership.