St. Mary’s School Celebrated its 75th Year!

From the beginning of its now 200+ year history, St. Mary’s Church and its clergy have paid special care to the importance of educating children. We carry on this remarkable legacy today by continuing to teach students the same principles: Faith + Knowledge + Service. For more than 75 years, St. Mary’s has been a great place for young people to grow!

For more information about our Catholic identity and St. Mary’s Church, please click here. 

A bit about the history of St. Mary’s School:

Following the Civil War, the number of children in the Rockville congregation increased to such an extent that Father Mackin, in the early 1870s, built a large Sunday school room at the northwest corner of the church. Here, classes of religious instruction were regularly held on Sunday afternoons for many years.

During the second world war, the number of St. Mary’s parishioners began to grow steadily, and the need for a school was felt. Because of the war, construction of the school was necessarily delayed. During these years, however, the program of religious instruction continued, and the number of students steadily increased.

By 1951, plans for a new school were completed and Father Hann contacted Mother Bernadette, R.S.M., to request sisters to staff St. Mary’s School.

St. Mary’s School opened in 1951 by the Sisters of Mercy, with its first classes held in the fall of that year.

The school opened by the original Our Lady’s Chapel, establishing a Catholic institution focused on faith, academics, and service for students in preschool through eighth grade.

*excerpts taken from Historic Saint Mary’s, Montgomery County, Rockville, Maryland. St. Mary’s Parish, 1987.