School History
The original Marion St. Mary School building, 1875
Marion St. Mary has served the families of St. Mary Parish and the Marion community for nearly 150 years. Father Joseph Quatman, pastor of St. Mary Parish, oversaw the construction of the original school building on Main Street, which occupied the area now covered by the church parking lot. When Fr. Quatman requested that the Sisters of Charity send teachers to staff the school, Sister Sylvester Williams, Sister Ann Alexius Gorman, and Sister Bertha Tracy came to Marion to live in a house across from the school building. They began teaching approximately 100 pupils in September of 1875.
Current Marion St. Mary School building, opened in 1906
The school began to grow, and celebrated its first formal graduation in 1882 for five students, including Margaret Butler, who went on to join the Sisters of Charity, becoming Sister Juliana. Records show that by 1898, seven Sisters of Charity at the school taught about 250 students in the elementary and secondary grades. Around 1902, the present convent was built on Prospect Street to house the nuns, and by 1906 the present school building, during the pastorate of Reverend Joseph Denning. This new building accommodated 400 students taught by twelve sisters in 1907, and was expanded with the addition of the east wing by 1920.
Fr. Spickerman
Father William J. Spickerman served as pastor of St. Mary from 1928 to 1962. During his tenure, the convent was renovated and expanded with a new wing in 1949 and housed fifteen Sisters of Charity. The Sisters celebrated their Diamond Jubilee in 1950, marking 75 years of service to the school.
In 1955, plans for the construction of Marion Catholic High School on Mt. Vernon Avenue were announced, and Fr. Spickerman began the drive to raise $500,000 to fund the project. By that time, the enrollment at St. Mary School had reached 773 students, including 186 high school students. This necessitated children in the elementary school attending half-day classes, and the school expected continued growth. The drive succeeded in raising around $610,000. The project ultimately cost $800,000 and was able to accommodate up to 500 students in grades 9-12 in twelve classrooms. St. Mary School on Prospect Street continued to house the elementary grades. The high school opened in 1957 with an enrollment of 209 students, with 679 students enrolled in the elementary school that same year.
In 1955, plans for the construction of Marion Catholic High School on Mt. Vernon Avenue were announced, and Fr. Spickerman began the drive to raise $500,000 to fund the project. By that time, the enrollment at St. Mary School had reached 773 students, including 186 high school students. This necessitated children in the elementary school attending half-day classes, and the school expected continued growth. The drive succeeded in raising around $610,000. The project ultimately cost $800,000 and was able to accommodate up to 500 students in grades 9-12 in twelve classrooms. St. Mary School on Prospect Street continued to house the elementary grades. The high school opened in 1957 with an enrollment of 209 students, with 679 students enrolled in the elementary school that same year.
Marion Catholic High School, 1957
In 1975, the Sisters of Charity celebrated their centennial in Marion. At that time, six sisters were living at the convent on Prospect Street, with most working at the schools as teachers and administrators. This number dwindled in the coming decade, however, and by the time that 15-year St. Mary School principal Sister Mary Carol Wintzinger left the elementary school, only a single Sister of Charity had served as a teacher at the elementary school for the previous decade. St. Mary School in 1984 had an enrollment of 390 students in kindergarten through the 8th grade. In 1987, the Sisters of Charity left Marion Catholic High School, with its co-principals Sister Virginia Scherer and Sister Dorothy William Englert taking positions elsewhere. Subsequently, the St. Mary Parish Convent closed, as only a single Sister of Charity remained working in the parish. The convent was later renovated into a parish center in 1991.
In the following decades, the schools continued to provide Catholic education to the Marion community, though the schools began to face enrollment challenges. In 2013, the Diocese of Columbus announced the closure of Marion Catholic High School, at which enrollment had fallen to 38 students in the high school grades, compared to an enrollment of 71 students a decade prior. The seventh and eight grades, which had previously been moved to the high school building, were returned to St. Mary School at that time. The closing of the high school deeply saddened many members of the Marion Catholic community and left Marion without a Catholic high school.
Despite these challenges, St. Mary School has begun to flourish once again. After enrollment dropped well below 100 in the years following the closure of Marion Catholic High School, we are proud to have rebounded to over 130 students currently and have restarted the Pre-Kindergarten program and athletics. With projected enrollment even higher for the 2024-2025 school year, we are excited to carry forth the tradition of excellent Catholic education in Marion, Ohio, and we look forward to continue serving our community in the years to come.
