Located in the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, it is a regional school serving Joplin and the surrounding communities;; it has an enrollment of approximately 70 students.

McAuley Catholic High School was established in 1885.

[1] The school has celebrated over 135 years of Catholic education in the Joplin area.

[2] The school was forced to convert their nearby storage building into the replacement elementary school over the summer of 2011 as the original was destroyed in a deadly tornado on May 22, 2011.

In 2016 the building was used for St. Peter's Middle School as St. Mary's Elementary school has built a new building at 3025 S Central City Rd.