Mother of Mercy High School is sponsored by the Religious Sisters of Mercy, a religious community founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland. The Sisters from their earliest days were dedicated to the education of young women and to the needs of the sick and the poor. At this time, Mother of Mercy is one of more than forty Mercy secondary schools in the western hemisphere.

Mother of Mercy Villa was founded in Westwood in 1915 as a result of the changing population in this area of Cincinnati. Originally planned to be a secondary school for young women, it was expanded to include elementary students in the early years at the request of area parents. In 1923 construction of the first permanent school building was begun and in 1928 the east wing was added. The school became known as Mother of Mercy Academy. The change to interparochial status in 1943 by request of Archbishop McNicholas resulted in a large increase of students from the local parishes as well as the most recent name, Mother of Mercy High School. Five years later the school became part of the North Central Association of Secondary Schools.

As the school continued to grow plans were made to add an additional building to house a new gym and nine classrooms. Groundbreaking took place in 1965, and as the building took shape plans were in place to eliminate the grade school as enrollment had swelled to such a degree. By 1977 student enrollment in Grade 9-12 reached 875 young women. For more on the history of Mother of Mercy, click here

Below are some pictures of Mother of Mercy High School.