The Aquinas Center

Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Aquinas Center is currently closed. Please email Clara Jerez with any questions

The Aquinas Center is located on the campus of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in a vibrant South Philadelphia neighborhood. The parish convent was repurposed in 2013 to respond to a growing desire for a welcoming space to offer mutual support and foster shared understanding across boundaries of class, race, ethnicity, language and geographic distance.

The Aquinas Center offers activities ranging from Encounter experiences to community organizing to immigration legal services to English classes. Some of these programs are weekly, repeat annually, or are standalone workshops. Valued program partners such as Catholic Social Services, Bethanna, La Puerta Abierta, the University of Pennsylvania, and Al Anon offer their specialized services at our site.

Programs and collaborative activities are thoughtfully considered before being offered. Community input, culturally competent leadership, and a social justice dimension are key factors in determining how a program intervention is designed and implemented. We seek to be mindful of how we can creatively and intentionally foster what Pope Francis calls the Culture of Encounter.