The church was built to meet the spiritual needs of the British soldiers stationed in and around Pune.

[citation needed] Being a garrison church, St. Mary's contains many memorials of the British soldiers who served in various wars and battles.

[2] The stones and plaques commemorate many figures; prominent amongst them is the memorial of Brevet Lieutenant Colonel and Major William Morris of Fishleigh, Hatherleigh, Devon, one of the few survivors from the battle of Balaclava.

The church also houses the remains of Sir Robert Grant, one of the queen's Most Honourable Privy Councillors and the Governor of Bombay.

The church also houses the remains of Sir Edward West, the Chief Justice of Supreme Court at Bombay, which was established in 1823 by the East India Company.