The foundation of the history of St Thomas Aquinas Parish began several years before the parish was officially organized. In 1940, Bishop William Murphy, first bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw, invited the Franciscan Fathers of the Assumption B.V.M. province, Pulaski, WI, to establish a mission house in Saginaw to aid in ministerial work.
The Franciscans bought the Joseph Fordney home in the 1400 block of Gratiot Avenue, naming it St Leonard Friary. The priest who lived there served the Diocese of Saginaw and other midwest dioceses by preaching missions, retreats and Forty Hours Devotions. The priests also assisted on weekend at area churches.
In March, 1953, Bishop Stephen Woznicki, second bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw, and Monsignor John Sonefied, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul Parish, entered into negotiations with the Franciscans to obtain the friary property as a site for the new SS. Peter and Paul High School (present day Saginaw Geriatrics). Wishing to retain the Franciscans in the diocese, the bishop offered them in exchange a 1.5 acre plot in the Berberovich subdivision on State Street, land donated to the diocese in 1948 by Dr. Thomas Berberovich. At the same time, the Franciscans were asked to organize the new St Thomas Aquinas Parish.
Bishop Woznicki, by an official decree of erection on March 3, 1953, canonically established St Thomas Aquinas Parish in Saginaw Township. At that time, the parish boundaries were Center Road on the east, Gratiot Avenue on the south, the Tittabawassee River on the west and Tittabawassee Road on the north.
Fr Angelus Stunek, OFM, was appointed first administrator of the parish on July 16, 1953. He celebrated the first parish Mass in the original Saginaw township Hall at the corner of North Center and Shattuck Roads on September 6, 1953. The first census listed 71 families as members of the new parish.
Due to ill health, Fr. Angelus was replaced as pastor by Fr Chester Osowski, OFM on July 24, 1954. The next month the parish decided to build a 10 room building with four rooms serving as a temporary church seating 330 people, another two rooms service as a meeting hall and overflow for the church, and four classrooms for the new St Thomas Aquinas School. Ground-breaking ceremonies were held on June 19, 1955. The first Mass was celebrated in the new building on April 1, 1956. That fall, St Thomas Aquinas School, staffed by the Bernadine Sisters of Reading, PA, opened its doors to 112 children.
The parish soon outgrew its facilities and the second phase of the parish plant was built and dedicated on October 16, 1960. It consisted of a gymnasium to be used as a temporary church, a library, school offices, a faculty lounge and a basement hall. The first class of eighth grade students received their diplomas on June 11, 1961. A year later, 466 children were being taught in the 10 classrooms of the original wing of the school.
In October 1964 with the permission of Bishop Woznicki, bids were accepted for further expansion of the school building. Locker and storage rooms were also added. By September 1965 the enlarged school offered educational facilities to over 600 children in 16 classrooms.
In September 1971, a steering committee met to draft a Constitution for a Parish Council at St Thomas Aquinas Parish. That winter, 14 members were elected to the Council with Ronald Snow elected as the first President. In the June 18, 1972 church bulletin was the news that the Finance and Building Committees of the Parish Council had picked a site and accepted a preliminary design for a new church. In July 1972 a change of leadership among the Franciscans and changing needs of the modern Church led the Franciscans to establish a team pastorate which each man using his talents in his own areas of competency. At that time, 978 families belonged to the parish. By September 1974, the number had grown past 1150.
On April 20, 1972, a request was submitted to the Diocese of Saginaw Building Commission and granted to retain an architect to plan a church which would seat 1000 people. Architect Robert Thiel of Schmidt-Thiel and Company began preliminary design work. On September 15, 1972, final permission was received from then Bishop Francis Reh to go ahead with the church building project. The Church design was influenced greatly by the decrees of II Vatican Council which encouraged that new churches be built to encourage more active participation by the faithful in the celebration of liturgical services. Early construction costs were paid through the generosity of the trust fund established by the late Dr. Thomas Berberovich which was valued at over $400,000.
As the building progressed, the time came for the people of the parish to take up the challenge of completing the financing of the project. Kick-off of the fund drive as November 25, 1973. Through the hard work of the volunteers and the generosity of over 760 families, $300,000 in pledges were received by the end of the General Fund Drive. As the structural plans progressed, Stanley Estkowski of Milwaukee, WI was commissioned to do the interior liturgical design. On May 21, 1973, the Parish Council approved the interior design and architectural plans for the Church and three days later permission was received from the Diocesan Building Commission to seek construction bids. Bids were opened on June 13, 1973 with contracts totaling $584,364 for the general, electrical and mechanical work signed with Engelhardt Construction Company, Remer Plumbing and Heating, Inc. and Atherton Electric Company. With architect fees, seating, carpeting, interior appointments, furniture and landscaping, the total cost of the project was expected to reach $700,000.
Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on June 24, 1973 with actual excavation work beginning on July 9, 1973.Construction continued into the summer of 1974. Setting of the cornerstone of the new Church was October 4, 1974, the feast of St Francis of Assisi, patron of the Franciscans Fathers. Bishop Francis Reh dedicated the new Church on December 8, 1974.
Over the years, the school building was enlarged with the east wing added as a Faith-Formation area, presently housing the junior high grades. In 2000, the school again was expanded to include new space for Kindergarten and other lower grades. In 2006, Saginaw Area Catholic Schools was created to consolidate the Catholic Schools in Saginaw into one school district. Since then, the number of Catholic Schools has declined in Saginaw. Fall 2014 saw the latest consolidation of the Catholic Schools with the merger of St Stephen and St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Schools to become Nouvel Catholic Central Elementary School using St Thomas Aquinas School building.
In 2008, the Franciscan Fathers informed the Diocese of Saginaw that they could no longer care for the St Thomas Aquinas Parish due to their declining numbers so the parish was returned to the care of the Diocese of Saginaw. Fr. Randy Kelly was the first diocesan priest assigned as pastor of St Thomas Aquinas. In 2010, extensive renovations took place in the Church updating the space and bringing it in line with liturgical changes since the church was constructed.
The parish realized that it needed to add parking space as the community continued to grow. By the fall of 2013, a new parking lot was built east of the Church with access from State Street. At the same time, working with Saginaw Township and MDOT, new landscaping was pursued with engineering and installation from Mark Kable Landscaping, Inc.