The parish, the first in Taunton, was established in 1830, and the present church, its second was built in 1868, to a design by Patrick C. Keely.

The complex, also including a rectory, convent, and school, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

[1] St. Mary's Church is located on a triangular parcel at the northern corner of Washington Street and Broadway, a short way north of Taunton's downtown area.

It is a massive Gothic Revival structure executed in stone, with a square tower at the front.

[2] Across Washington Street to the east is the rectory, a Flemish Revival brick building constructed in 1903 on the site of the first church, which was sold and moved elsewhere in Taunton.