The Parish and school came into being in 1961 when Monsignor Cornelius Higgins, Diocesan Chancellor, arranged for its establishment on 6.5 acres of property on the corner of Norris and Robertson Avenues in Sacramento.

Even before the location or boundaries had been set, however, Monsignor Higgins, who was also to become the first Pastor, had arranged for a community of Presentation Sisters from Cork, Ireland, to staff the yet-to-be built school, and for the parish to be named "Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary."

The first Mass was said on February 16, 1961, and the gigantic task of building a convent, school and temporary church was undertaken. Largely as the result of volunteer labor, the convent was completed when the Sisters arrived on August 22, 1961; the school was ready for classes in September, and the first Mass was celebrated in the temporary church (now the gymnasium) on October 1, 1961. Under the auspices of many of the parish organizations still in existence, fundraising efforts were begun. By the time Monsignor Higgins left in 1968, the debt had been retired. The new church was erected and dedicated by Bishop Alden J. Bell on May 11, 1975. The Presentation Sisters, for whom the Parish was named, left the area in 1991.

Now the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist will be continuing the legacy created by the Presentation Sisters.  These Sisters partner with lay staff to create a dynamic, Christ-centered, authentically Catholic experience for our PBVM children.