The current home of St. Andrew's Church, built in 1927 at an estimated cost of $1,000,000, is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and important churches in Southern California.
The style of architecture, without and within, is that of early Christian churches of the Byzantine era.
 The architect, Ross Montgomery, and the church's pastor, Msgr.
McCarthy, both traveled to Italy studying early Byzantine architecture to find inspiration for the new church in Pasadena.
The Los Angeles Times later commented on the contributions of Montgomery and McCarthy: "The collaboration of the architect and the priest has produced an edifice that will remain a monument to the memory of both."
 Montgomery and McCarthy found their principal inspiration at Santa Sabina, a basilica in Rome built in 432 A.D., on which they modeled St. Andrew's.
 
At a dedication Mass in May 1928, hundreds of children participated in a religious procession at 6 a.m. when the Blessed Sacrament, covered by a canopy, was moved from the old church on Fair Oaks to the new church.
 Bishop John Cantwell declared the new church "the pride of the diocese and a worthy replica of the ancient church on the banks of the Tiber."

In 1930, the Los Angeles Times wrote of the church: "Pasadena, world-renowned for its semi-tropic loveliness, has received a new distinction that, a century hence, may be regarded as greater than all that has gone before.
For in the heart of Pasadena, at Raymond avenue and Chestnut street, like a jeweled crown on the head of a Byzantine queen, rises beautiful St. Andrew's Catholic Church. '
Beautiful St. Andrew's!'
 That appellation will remain long after the last of the present generation has passed.
The building and decorations mark a new epoch in religious architecture on the Pacific Coast."

The Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles says of St. Andrew's: "Early Christian fabric with Romanesque campanile right out of old Ravenna.
The rich interior is marvelous, as is the contribution of the church outlines to the cityscape.
Best seen from the Foothill Freeway going east at sunset..."
The current home of St. Andrew's Church, built in 1927 at an estimated cost of $1,000,000, is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and important churches in Southern California. The style of architecture, without and within, is that of early Christian churches of the Byzantine era.  The architect, Ross Montgomery, and the church's pastor, Msgr. McCarthy, both traveled to Italy studying early Byzantine architecture to find inspiration for the new church in Pasadena. The Los Angeles Times later commented on the contributions of Montgomery and McCarthy: "The collaboration of the architect and the priest has produced an edifice that will remain a monument to the memory of both."  Montgomery and McCarthy found their principal inspiration at Santa Sabina, a basilica in Rome built in 432 A.D., on which they modeled St. Andrew's.  
At a dedication Mass in May 1928, hundreds of children participated in a religious procession at 6 a.m. when the Blessed Sacrament, covered by a canopy, was moved from the old church on Fair Oaks to the new church.  Bishop John Cantwell declared the new church "the pride of the diocese and a worthy replica of the ancient church on the banks of the Tiber."
In 1930, the Los Angeles Times wrote of the church: "Pasadena, world-renowned for its semi-tropic loveliness, has received a new distinction that, a century hence, may be regarded as greater than all that has gone before. For in the heart of Pasadena, at Raymond avenue and Chestnut street, like a jeweled crown on the head of a Byzantine queen, rises beautiful St. Andrew's Catholic Church. 'Beautiful St. Andrew's!'  That appellation will remain long after the last of the present generation has passed. The building and decorations mark a new epoch in religious architecture on the Pacific Coast."
The Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles says of St. Andrew's: "Early Christian fabric with Romanesque campanile right out of old Ravenna. The rich interior is marvelous, as is the contribution of the church outlines to the cityscape. Best seen from the Foothill Freeway going east at sunset..."
St. Andrew's Catholic Church (Pasadena, California)