St. John Roman Catholic Mission, Bozrah (1894)

The parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Norwich were once (before 1953) part of the Diocese of Hartford. This included St. Andrew’s Parish in Colchester. According to The History of the Diocese of Hartford, written by Rev. James H. O’Donnell and published in 1900, St. Andrew’s Parish then had “three out-missions,” one of which,

St. John’s church, Fitchville [a section of the town of Bozrah], was built by Rev. John Cooney in 1894, and is ten miles from the parochial residence. The population here also is chiefly Irish, and numbers 300 souls. They also receive every Sunday the benefits of the Holy Sacrifice. At the ceremony of laying the corner-stone of St. John’s, the Rev. Michael Sullivan preached the sermon. The church was dedicated by Bishop Tierney, the Rev. John Winters preaching the discourse.

Today, St. John’s is a mission of Sacred Heart Parish in Norwichtown. St. John Roman Catholic Mission is located at 190 Fitchville Road.

Immaculate Conception Church, New Hartford (1870)

The first Catholic Mass in New Hartford was celebrated in 1849 in a private home. Masses continued to be offered in various residences and rented halls, as well as the Brick Machine Shop, for the next two decades. During that time, the Catholic population of New Hartford grew as Irish and French–Canadians immigrants came to work in local cotton mills. Immaculate Conception Church, designed by noted architect Patrick C. Keely of New York, was dedicated on March 27, 1870. Immaculate Conception became a parish in 1881. Recently, Immaculate Conception Church, at 3 Church Street in New Hartford, was merged with Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, at 78 Litchfield Road in Harwinton, to form Our Lady of Hope Parish.

St. Mary Church, Stonington (1901)

The Blessing of the Fleet each summer is a yearly tradition in the Borough of Stonington. The event honors local fisherman who died at sea and blesses the fishing fleet for the safety and success of current fishermen. It begins with the Fishermen’s Mass at St. Mary Catholic Church, followed by a parade and the blessing at the dock by the Catholic Bishop of Norwich. By 1950 more than half of Stonington’s fishermen were of Portuguese descent and the first Blessing of the Fleet, which took place on July 1, 1956, was inspired by similar events held in other Portuguese fishing communities. Two institutions that are central to Stonington’s Portuguese community are St. Mary’s Church and the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society. As described in the History of the Town of Stonington (1900), by Richard Anson Wheeler:

St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church at Stonington Borough.— This church was formed in 1851, and the edifice was erected the same year by subscriptions from the Catholics of Stonington, Westerly and the Mystics, under the supervision of Rev. P. Duffy, who was the first pastor. At present it is joined to Mystic as an out-mission and attended by the priests at Mystic, the Rev. Father Murphy being its present pastor.

The 1851 church was eventually expanded/replaced by a new structure. According to the Town of Stonington’s Property Listing Report, the current church building at 22 Broad Street was built in 1901.

Connor Chapel of Our Lady, University of Saint Joseph (1966)

The University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford is a Roman Catholic coeducational institution of higher education that was founded in 1932 as a college for women. The University‘s Chapel, built in 1965-1966, was the gift of Joseph and Jane Cullen Connor. Joseph passed away two weeks before the ceremonial groundbreaking, which took place on July 16, 1965. Jane broke ground and as she dug in her shovel she prayed “May all who enter this Chapel be saved.” These words are inscribed on the narthex floor inside the main doors. The Connor Chapel of Our Lady has the shape of a cross and the interior focuses on a central raised altar.

St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Oxford (1973)

Pictured above is the rear elevation of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, located at 733 Oxford Road in Oxford. The parish, established in 1966, began as a mission of St. Augustine Parish in Seymour. It later passed to the care of St. Rose, Newtown and then to St. Michael, Beacon Falls in 1924 before returning again to St. Augustine in 1948. In 1909, Judge Thomas Coman of New York donated money to build a chapel. Dedicated on July 2, 1912 to St. Mary, the chapel was renamed for St. Thomas the Apostle on October 9, 1916. In 1971 the site for the current church was chosen and the Coman chapel was sold the following year. The new church was dedicated on January 28, 1973.

St. Paul’s Hall (1903)

The first St. Paul’s Church in Glastonbury was erected in 1903 at 40 Naubuc Avenue. Bishop Michael A. Tierney blessed the cornerstone on May 31, 1903 and the dedication ceremony took place on October 18. The previous year, the church had been made a mission of St. Augustine Parish, South Glastonbury. St. Paul’s was made a parish on September 23, 1954 and a new church, at 2577 Main Street, was dedicated on January 25, 1958. The former church on Naubuc Avenue became the Parish Hall. Today St Paul’s and St. Augustine’s parishes are joined in the Roman Catholic Community of Saints Isidore and Maria