We are St. Mary's

Our History

St. Mary’s has been educating students in Lynn since 1881, when Rev. Monsignor Patrick Swain summarized his vision for the school stating, “we look forward to great results that will make our men and women more pure, more honest, more truthful, more charitable, more regardful of proper authority, and, in every way more conscientious citizens.”   This mission still holds true for the St. Mary’s of today.

St. Mary’s was built by and for immigrants who wanted a better life for their children. As people of strong faith, they knew that education would be the key to a better future, but they also recognized the importance of having an education that stressed values in addition to academics. 

For the first 40 years of its existence, St. Mary’s was a grammar school only.

St. Mary’s Girls High School opened in 1923 under the direction of Msgr. Teeling, and then Msgr. Joseph McGlinchey, who oversaw the construction of St. Mary’s Boys High in 1930. The Sisters of St. Joseph became the primary instructors for students in the boys high school, while the Sisters of Notre Dame continued to teach students in the grammar school and girls high school. 

In the fall of 1968, St. Mary’s High School became a fully co-educational institution, and continues that model today.

St. Mary’s opened Grades 7 and 8 in 1990, adding sixth grade in 2011.

Thanks to a transformational $5 million bequest from Bill Connell, Class of ’55, the Connell Center building broke ground on May 24, 2004 and opened in September 2005.

Over the years, St. Mary’s has continued to grow and adapt in order to meet the needs of the communities it serves, relying heavily on the talent and treasure of the board. 

In 2017 the school launched the next successful campaign, Building Futures, leading to the construction of the STEM building, which stands on the ground where the power plant and annex buildings once stood.This space now houses thousands of square feet of innovative, state-of-the-art labs, where our 700 middle and high school students learn the skills today that are needed to become the leaders of tomorrow. It also is home to the Mosakowski Gardens, which contains both an outdoor student life area as well as a reflective space with a grotto to Mary, stations of the cross artwork, and a fountain named for Cardinal Seán.

In 2018, St. Mary’s formalized a relationship with Sacred Heart School in order to continue to strengthen Catholic education in Lynn and the surrounding communities. This merger made possible an integration of resources and strengthening of curriculum for students beginning with early education. This ensures a journey in Catholic education beginning in preschool and culminating in high school graduation.  Sacred Heart became St. Mary’s Elementary School and now lives on St. Mary's campus at 35 Tremont Street.

St. Mary's - Where Tradition Meets the Future

Click below to watch a retrospective video of St. Mary's Lynn narrated by Board Chair William S. Mosakowski,