In August 1888, Miss Florence Gay began a Sunday School for five children in a home in what was then a pasture where dairy cows grazed among the chaparral. As the school grew, Episcopal clergy began to visit, baptize, and instruct. The effort soon came under the care of St. Luke's Church, which sent the Rev. William Bolton in March 1890 to lead the growing mission.
With 54 families and 75 Sunday School children, the congregation moved from a home to a vacant grocery store to a political meeting hall before raising $1,500 to build a permanent church. In April 1891, St. Mary the Virgin became the ninth Episcopal parish in San Francisco.
Father Bolton secured a corner lot from Frank Pixley, publisher of the Argonaut. Pixley and his wife Amelia also donated the altar painting, a copy of "Asunto Mistico" by G. Cignaroli. The first services in the present church were held on October 4, 1891.
St. Mary's survived the 1906 earthquake and fire. But two decades of unstable leadership followed, and membership dwindled as rector after rector stayed less than a year. The parish lost its standing and became a mission of the diocese in 1918.
A turning point came in the early 1920s when new deed restrictions allowed a broader style of worship. Membership began to grow again, and by 1940 St. Mary's was a parish once more.
The Rev. Keppel Hill oversaw significant transformation. The church's interior was reversed, placing the altar at the Steiner Street end and creating a new entrance off Union Street through a courtyard. A chapel and offices were added. The Pixley House on Steiner Street was purchased. The fresco mural scenes from the life of St. Mary in the courtyard were created by artists Lucienne Bloch and Stephen Dimitroff in 1966.
The Rev. Richard Fowler served for nearly 33 years, a period of significant growth. Membership, outreach, worship services, and the buildings all expanded. Three Sunday choirs formed the foundation of a music ministry augmented by a concert series. Lay ministry thrived, and women were welcomed into ordained and lay ministerial roles.
The parish helped establish the Episcopal Sanctuary for the Homeless and founded the ecumenical Ministry to Nursing Homes. In 1997, the parish moved out for nine months for a thorough renovation of Parish Hall (renamed Fowler Hall) and Pixley House.
Rev. Dr. Jason Parkin brought new energy and vision at the start of the new millennium, enhancing the parish's strong traditions of lay leadership, liturgy, and music. St. Mary's helped establish the Canon Barcus Community House, providing housing and services for 48 homeless families in San Francisco. In 2001, Bishop William E. Swing named St. Mary's the Parish of the Year.
The St. Mary's Columbarium was dedicated in 2007, completing the Mary Meditation Garden. The small garden behind the church offers a tranquil space with a statue of Mary and her child and a bench for meditation and prayer.
After more than three decades of devoted service, Michael Secour (Organist and Choirmaster) and Catherine Secour (Children's Choir Director) retired. Chip Grant was called as Director of Music. Today, Director of Music Eric Choate and Music Associate Marla Perkins continue to steward a vital music ministry.
The Rev. Scott E. Richardson served as Rector from 2012 through the end of 2015. The parish continued to grow under the leadership of the Vestry and interim clergy in the years that followed.
In August 2017, the Rev. David Erickson answered the Vestry's call to become Rector, and continues to lead St. Mary's today.