Worship in other languages near Palo Alto

More than a third of Palo Alto residents were born outside the United States. Many arrive looking for a congregation where the prayers, songs and sermons sound like home. Others want their children to grow up hearing a heritage language in a religious setting. The good news is that services in more than a dozen languages are held within about 25 miles of downtown, many of them much closer.

This page lists only services that a community's own website, bulletin or official diocesan listing showed in 2026. Times are as published in fall 2026. Language schedules change more often than English ones, especially when a visiting priest or teacher is involved, so always check before you go. Each entry links to the page on our site with fuller details on that community. The overview is our places of worship guide.

Languages at a glance

Spanish

Spanish-language worship is most common in Catholic parishes. In Palo Alto, St. Thomas Aquinas Parish holds its Spanish Mass on Sundays at 9 a.m. at Our Lady of the Rosary on Cowper Street. Mountain View has more options. St. Joseph, near Castro Street, lists a Sunday 1 p.m. Mass in Spanish and a Saturday evening Spanish Mass on most weeks. Its website and schedule are bilingual. St. Athanasius on Rengstorff Avenue lists four Spanish Masses each weekend and a bilingual weekday Mass. Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City also offers Buddhist teachings in Spanish through its "Dharma en Español" program. Details are on our Catholic churches page.

Chinese, Korean and Japanese

Chinese

Central Chinese Christian Church at 801 San Antonio Road in south Palo Alto worships in Chinese on Sundays at 10 a.m., with a Zoom stream, Sunday school and several fellowship groups. Its website is in traditional Chinese characters and posts weekly sermons.

Korean

Cornerstone Community Church, a Korean Southern Baptist congregation that now meets in Redwood City, lists Korean services at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and an English service at 12:30 p.m. on Sundays. Its children's and youth programs run at the same time. St. Joseph in Mountain View also has Korean Masses in the Diocese of San Jose listing. See our Protestant churches page for more.

Japanese

Mountain View Buddhist Temple, a Jodo Shinshu temple at 575 N. Shoreline Boulevard, holds Japanese language services on selected Sundays and offers Dharma messages in Japanese. Its regular Sunday service at 10 a.m. is in English. See our Buddhist temples page.

South Asian languages

Tamil

St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mountain View holds a Tamil Mass at 7 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month.

Punjabi and Gurbani: the nearest gurdwara

Sikh worship centers on singing Gurbani, the hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib, which are written in Gurmukhi script. The nearest gurdwara we could confirm with 2026 activity on its own website is the Sikh Gurdwara Sahib at 3636 Gurdwara Avenue in the Evergreen area of San Jose, about 25 miles from Palo Alto. Its website listed a Raag Darbar of classical kirtan on September 11 to 13, 2026. It also offers langar, the free community meal. The site does not post current weekly program times, so call 408-274-9373 before you go.

Gurdwaras generally welcome visitors of every faith. Visitors cover their heads and remove their shoes before entering the prayer hall. Tobacco and alcohol are not allowed on the grounds. Head scarves are usually available at the entrance. Several other gurdwaras serve the East Bay and South Bay, but we could not confirm 2026 activity on their own websites in time for this update.

Hindi, Telugu, Gujarati and Sanskrit

Hindu temple worship is largely in Sanskrit, with bhajans and talks in regional languages. The Fremont Hindu Temple's weekly schedule includes Hanuman Chalisa, Sundar Kand and an Arya Samaj havan. Its calendar marks North and South Indian observances. See our Hindu and Jain temples page for times.

French, Latin, Greek and Church Slavonic

• French. The Diocese of San Jose listing shows a Sunday 5 p.m. Mass in French at the parish of St. Nicholas and St. William in Los Altos. Confirm the church and time with the parish.
• Latin. The Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park holds a Traditional Latin Mass on Sundays at 12:30 p.m. St. Thomas Aquinas in Palo Alto lists a Sunday Gregorian Mass.
• Church Slavonic. The Nativity of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Church in Menlo Park holds all services in Church Slavonic and English. Most parishioners are Russian speakers and the parish website has a Russian-language section.
• Greek. St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in San Jose prints Sunday readings and hymns in both Greek and English and invites readers in either language.

Our Orthodox churches page has full details on both Orthodox parishes.

Hebrew

Synagogue liturgy is largely in Hebrew in every movement, with English readings and translations to varying degrees. Etz Chayim posts prayer book PDFs and audio guides so newcomers can follow along. The Oshman Family JCC offers programs in Hebrew and a community for Russian speakers. Our synagogues page lists Shabbat times.

Tips for finding your community

For practical help settling in, including legal aid and English classes, see our immigrant resources page.

Frequently asked questions