Our Lady of Lourdes High School was founded in April 1958 by His Eminence, 
Francis Cardinal Spellman, who purchased the former Poughkeepsie High School 
building and grounds from the Poughkeepsie Board of Education. The school was 
given its name in honor of the centenary of the apparition of the Virgin Mary at 
Lourdes in France.

The new school opened its doors in September of 1958 with a faculty of four Marist
brothers, four Dominican sisters, an athletic coach, and an enrollment of 280 students.   The original school was divided into two halves, one for the boys and one for the girls.  Our Lady of Lourdes existed this way as separate schools until 1970.  

The first class graduated in June 1962, and more than 9,000 alumni have since followed in their footsteps.  In 1996, with financial help from the James J. McCann Charitable Trust, Lourdes moved to its current campus.  In 2013 and once again through the generosity of the James J. McCann Charitable Trust, as well as, 
alumni, parents and friends of the school, construction of the James J. McCann Athletic Facility was completed.  The new outdoor facility includes a state-of-the-art turf field with a surrounding track and bleachers.