The church community dates back to 1928 when the first archbishop of the Los Angeles diocese, John Cantwell, invited the Paulist Fathers to establish a new parish in the Westwood Hills area.

The parish would serve the new UCLA campus, the surrounding community, and “the moving picture people.” The first Mass was held the same year in a storefront at 10374 Ashton Avenue with a desk as the altar. The store owner, Phil Cohen, had leased the real estate office to the Paulist Fathers.

Over the next four years, Masses and religious instruction were held at numerous sites. In 1932, the property at Ohio and Selby Avenues was purchased and construction began. The original church (now the John Carroll Parish Center and Parish Office) was dedicated and went into use in late 1932. The first section of the school was opened in 1935 and staffed, from its inception, by the Daughters of Mary and Joseph.

Eventually, the original building became too small to accommodate the growing parish and school community. Parishioner support helped break ground for the current church structure in 1956. Construction was completed in the spring of 1958, and the new church, still in use today, was dedicated on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29, 1958. St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Community celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2018 and is now 95 years old.