In the early 1870's, the Jesuits of Santa Clara erected a small wooden church--St. Mary Mission--on property they owned on Santa Cruz Ave. St. Mary Mission was elevated to parish status in 1912 when the Jesuits turned the mission church over to the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Construction of a new church began in 1912 on parish property located at Bean and Tait. The church seated 286 people. Improvements to the buildings and property continued as the city and the population of Los Gatos continued to grow. Many years earlier talk began regarding a parish school, but it wasn't until 1954 that ground was broken for the school.
By 1960 the original church building was in need of replacement in order to accommodate the growing parish community. The first mass was celebrated in the present church on December 8, 1962. The new St. Mary Church seated 958 and was designed in a contemporary mission style architecture.
Between 1962 and 1987, a social consciousness began spreading throughout the church and gave rise to expanded community ministry within the parish. From 1987 to the present, lay members of St. Mary became more and more involved in pastoral ministries. The growing need for more space for parish groups culminated in 1986 with the building of the new Pastoral Center which today is home to Parish Office, school administration, Catechetical, Liturgical, and Youth and Young Adult Ministries. Today, our Pastoral Center is bustling with constant activity, an ever-present reminder that our church is forever changing and growing as it meets the needs of St. Mary Community.
