Bishop John B. Purcell of the Diocese of Cincinnati bought land in Marietta in 1837 and sent a resident priest the following year to establish the parish.

[1] The property for the present church was acquired in 1900 after the 1,000-member parish determined it needed to move to higher ground.

Cleveland architect Emile M. Uhlrich designed the church in the Spanish Colonial Revival style.

The ground was broken on July 1, 1903 and Bishop James J. Hartley of the Diocese of Columbus, which St. Mary's became a part of in 1868, laid the cornerstone on June 12, 1904.

Pope Francis decreed on June 13, 2013 that St. Mary's Church was elevated to the status of a minor basilica.