St. Anthony of Padua Parish (Fairfield, Connecticut)

St. Anthony of Padua Parish
St. Anthony of Padua Parish
	41°08′17.7″N 73°16′4.5″W / 41.138250°N 73.267917°W
Location	149 South Pine Creek Road; Fairfield, Connecticut
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	Parish website
History
Founded	1927
Founder(s)	Polish immigrants
Dedication	St. Anthony of Padua
Administration
Province	Hartford
Diocese	Bridgeport
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Most Rev. William E. Lori
Pastor(s)	Ms. Eleanor W. Sauers Ph.D. (Parish Life Coordinator)

St. Anthony of Padua Parish is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States, in the Diocese of Bridgeport.

The parish was established in 1927 as a national parish for Polish immigrants, one of a number of Polish-American Roman Catholic parishes in New England, and staffed by Conventual Franciscans. It was one of several ethnic congregations in Fairfield, others including St. Emery's, serving the Hungarian populace, and Holy Cross, the only Slovene church in New England.^[1]

A new parish church designed by Anthony J. DePace of New York was built in 1970, but as demographics shifted, the parish lost parishioners as well as much of its Polish identity; its parochial school closed in 1973.^[2]

Fr. John Baran arrived as pastor in 2002 from crosstown Our Lady of the Assumption Church. He ended a number of traditionalist practices and services, and set about improving the parish's outreach and community activity. As an homage to the Polish heritage, however, the parish picnic, held annually since 1978, does feature traditional Polish foods such as pierogies and stuffed cabbage.^[2]

In December 2018, Bishop Frank Caggiano appointed Eleanor W. Sauers as Parish Life Coordinator, the first time a lay person had been appointed to head church administration in the diocese. Sauers had previously served as director of religious education, and had written her 2007 Ph.D. dissertation on the transformation of the parish.^[3]

References

^ Austen, Barbara E; Bryan, Barbara D (1997), Fairfield, Connecticut, Arcadia Publishing, p. 28, ISBN 9780738538877
^ ^a ^b Lawlot, Thomas (April 4, 2018), "Saying goodbye to Rev. John P. Baran", Fairfield Citizen, retrieved May 15, 2019
^ Sauers, Eleanor W (2007), "St. Anthony of Padua parish: A case study of the transformation of a Roman Catholic parish", Etd Collection for Fordham University, ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI3299115: 1–218

The 150th Anniversary of Polish-American Pastoral Ministry. Webster, Massachusetts: St. Joseph Basilica. September 11, 2005.
Kruszka, Waclaw (1998). A History of the Poles in America to 1908. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press - Part III: Poles in the Eastern and Southern States. ISBN 978-0-8132-0809-1.
The Official Catholic Directory in USA. National Register Publishing. 2012.

External links

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[ffc-1] Austen, Barbara E; Bryan, Barbara D (1997), Fairfield, Connecticut, Arcadia Publishing, p. 28, ISBN 9780738538877

[baran-2] Lawlot, Thomas (April 4, 2018), "Saying goodbye to Rev. John P. Baran", Fairfield Citizen, retrieved May 15, 2019

[sauers-3] Sauers, Eleanor W (2007), "St. Anthony of Padua parish: A case study of the transformation of a Roman Catholic parish", Etd Collection for Fordham University, ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI3299115: 1–218

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v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport
Ordinaries	Bishops Lawrence Shehan Walter William Curtis Edward Egan William E. Lori Frank Joseph Caggiano
Churches	Cathedral St. Augustine Cathedral Basilica Basilica of Saint John the Evangelist, Stamford Parishes St. Agnes, Greenwich St. Anthony of Padua, Fairfield St. Benedict-Our Lady of Montserrat, Stamford Blessed Sacrament, Bridgeport St. Bridget of Ireland, Stamford St. Catherine of Siena, Riverside St. Catherine of Siena, Trumbull St. Cecilia, Stamford St. Charles Borromeo, Bridgeport Christ the King, Trumbull St. Clement of Rome, Stamford SS. Cyril and Methodius, Bridgeport St. Gabriel, Stamford St. George, Bridgeport St. Gregory the Great Church, Danbury Holy Family, Fairfield Holy Name of Jesus, Stamford Holy Name of Jesus, Stratford Holy Spirit, Stamford Immaculate Heart of Mary, Danbury St. James, Stratford St. Jerome, Norwalk St. John, Darien St. Joseph, Brookfield St. Joseph, Danbury St. Joseph, South Norwalk St. Ladislaus, South Norwalk St. Lawrence, Shelton Saint Margaret Shrine, Bridgeport St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, Brookfield St. Mark, Stratford St. Mary, Bridgeport St. Mary, Greenwich St. Mary, Norwalk St. Mary, Stamford St. Matthew, Norwalk St. Maurice, Stamford St. Michael the Archangel, Bridgeport Notre Dame, Easton Our Lady of Grace, Stratford Our Lady of Guadalupe, Danbury Our Lady of Peace, Stratford Our Lady of the Assumption, Fairfield Our Lady of the Assumption, Westport Our Lady Star of the Sea, Stamford St. Paul, Greenwich St. Peter, Bridgeport St. Peter, Danbury St. Philip, Norwalk St. Pius X, Fairfield St. Roch, Greenwich St. Rose of Lima, Newtown Sacred Heart, Georgetown Sacred Heart, Greenwich Sacred Heart, Stamford Sacred Heart of Jesus, Danbury St. Stephen, Trumbull St. Theresa, Trumbull St. Thomas Aquinas, Fairfield St. Thomas the Apostle, Norwalk
Education	Seminary St. John Fisher Seminary Higher education Fairfield University Sacred Heart University St. Vincent's College, Bridgeport High schools Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich Fairfield College Preparatory School, Fairfield Immaculate High School, Danbury Kolbe Cathedral High School, Bridgeport Notre Dame Catholic High School, Fairfield St. Joseph High School, Trumbull Trinity Catholic High School, Stamford
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