It was a part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, and was sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy in Dublin, Ireland.

The campus was located on 19th Avenue, near San Francisco State University, and included a multipurpose pavilion, which was built and dedicated to Catherine McAuley in 2001.

[2] In 1855, Mother Baptist Russell and the Sisters of Mercy opened a night school for adults on Vallejo Street in San Francisco.

As a result, Mercy High School was opened on September 3, 1952 with a class of 199 freshmen in a partially completed building.

[4][5] Mercy offered a four-year college preparatory program, which included advanced placement and honors courses in English, mathematics, science, foreign language, and history.