About Chapel of Our Lady of the Assumption · Mystic, Connecticut
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Assumption is the spiritual heart of Enders Island, an 11-acre island off the coast of Mystic, Connecticut, connected to the mainland by a short causeway. Operated by St. Edmund's Retreat, Inc., an independent Catholic 501(c)(3) non-profit under the Diocese of Norwich, the chapel was consecrated on December 8, 2002, and is built from local Connecticut fieldstone interspersed with stones gathered from the great Marian shrines and holy sites of the world, including Fatima, Lourdes, Knock, Mont-Saint-Michel, the Abbey of Pontigny, Medjugorje, Jerusalem, and Rome. It serves the liturgical life of an Edmundite (Society of St. Edmund) Catholic community devoted to retreat ministry, sacred art education, and recovery from addiction, while remaining open to all who wish to attend daily Mass or come for private prayer amid the island's gardens and seascapes.
- Established
- 1954
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Assumption; the community is also under the patronage of St. Edmund of Canterbury, whose principal relic is enshrined in the chapel
- Rector
- Rev. Thomas F.X. Hoar, SSE (President & CEO of St. Edmund's Retreat and community priest on Enders Island)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut
Why belong here
Enders Island is rooted in seven decades of Catholic ministry and welcomes visitors of all backgrounds seeking hope and healing. Daily Mass is offered in the fieldstone Chapel of Our Lady of the Assumption every morning at 9:00 AM, the Holy Rosary is prayed daily, Holy Hour with Benediction is celebrated every Monday evening, and a Christian Meditation group meets on Wednesdays — drawing retreatants, recovery residents, and pilgrims into a prayerful rhythm. Beyond the chapel, the community offers spiritual direction, ongoing recovery residences for men, sacred-art workshops (iconography, stained glass, illumination, painting), a Clergy Sabbatical Program for priests and religious in need of renewal, and beautiful walking gardens on an 11-acre island reached by causeway from Mystic — a genuinely rare place to pray, rest, and be refreshed.
Mass times at Chapel of Our Lady of the Assumption
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- Holy Hour with Benediction — Monday 7:00 PM
- Christian Meditation Group — Wednesday 6:00 PM
The Chapel
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Assumption is the heart of Enders Island and the centerpiece of community prayer and liturgical celebration. Constructed from local Connecticut fieldstone and stones gathered from world-famous shrines, it was consecrated on December 8, 2002. The chapel is open daily for private prayer from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and its schedule — a single daily Mass at 9:00 AM — is designed to give the retreat community, recovery residents, staff, and visiting pilgrims a stable rhythm of prayer rooted in the Liturgy of the Hours.
Devotions
The chapel's devotional life extends beyond daily Mass. A weekly Holy Hour with Benediction is celebrated every Monday evening, and a Christian Meditation Group gathers on Wednesdays. The Holy Rosary is prayed privately throughout the day, and the chapel is open for private prayer every day from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM.
- Holy Hour with Benediction — Monday 7:00 PM
- Christian Meditation Group — Wednesday 6:00 PM
- The Holy Rosary — daily, private prayer
- Private Prayer in the chapel — daily, 6:00 AM–9:00 PM
The Reliquary of St. Edmund of Canterbury
Above the high altar of the chapel sits a reliquary modeled on the Abbey of Pontigny (southeast of Paris), where the incorrupt body of St. Edmund of Canterbury (1180–1240) lies in state. It was at this abbey that the Society of St. Edmund was founded in 1843. The community is honored to keep St. Edmund's principal relic in the chapel, and he has long been invoked as an intercessor for those in need of healing. The chapel also houses an extensive collection of saints' relics, reflecting the early Catholic practice of bringing relics to churches when it was not possible to visit the saints' tombs in person.
- Principal relic of St. Edmund of Canterbury in the reliquary above the high altar
- Extensive collection of saints' relics housed in the chapel
- St. Edmund of Canterbury invoked as an intercessor for healing
History of Enders Island
Enders Island was purchased in 1910 by Dr. Thomas B. Enders, a Yale-educated Hartford surgeon. After his death in 1943, his widow Alys Enders, a devout Catholic, set out to place the island in the care of a religious community. Through Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan of the newly created Diocese of Norwich, the gift reached Father Jeremiah T. Purtill, SSE, Superior General of the Society of St. Edmund, who formally accepted it on January 6, 1954. Alys Enders' transfer of deed followed on January 8, 1954, and she died on January 30, 1954, knowing the island would be preserved for religious and charitable purposes.
- 1910: Dr. Thomas B. Enders purchases Enders Island from the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
- January 26, 1943: Dr. Enders dies, leaving funds for repairs and improvements to Alys Enders
- 1953: Mrs. Enders, ailing, seeks a religious institution to receive her gift
- October 9, 1953: Bishop Bernard Joseph Flanagan appointed first Bishop of Norwich
- January 6/8, 1954: Father Jeremiah T. Purtill, SSE, accepts and Alys Enders formally transfers the island
- January 30, 1954: Mrs. Alys Enders dies
- October 9, 1954: Bishop Flanagan formally approves the Society's mission in the Diocese of Norwich
- Spring 1955: First parish groups welcomed for Days of Recollection
- 1967: Formal Recovery Ministry established (today's St. Edmund's Retreat)
- 1990: Retreat bankrupt and dispirited; revitalization begins
- 1991: Task force votes 19–1 to close; Bishop Daniel Patrick Reilly asks the Society to reconsider
- December 8, 2002: The Chapel of Our Lady of the Assumption is consecrated
- 2003: Title transferred to St. Edmund of Connecticut, Inc., with Pope John Paul II's approval; operations leased to St. Edmund's Retreat, Inc.
The Society of St. Edmund
The chapel is staffed by members of the Society of St. Edmund (S.S.E.), a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right founded in 1843 by Venerable Jean-Baptiste Muard at the Cistercian Abbey of Pontigny in France — the same abbey where St. Edmund of Canterbury is buried. The Society's charism centers on spiritual renewal, evangelization, and social justice. After a year at the novitiate on Enders Island, members traditionally served in parishes, schools (notably St. Michael's College in Vermont), and missions, including in Selma, Alabama.
- Founded 1843 at Pontigny by Venerable Jean-Baptiste Muard
- Named for St. Edmund of Canterbury (1180–1240)
- Charism: spiritual renewal, evangelization, social justice
- Enders Island novitiate in continuous use for many decades
Sacred Art Institute
St. Edmund's Sacred Art Institute offers spiritual inspiration alongside teaching in the history and craft of sacred art — visual, written, and sung — through a community of highly skilled instructors. Workshops are designed to be accessible to beginners while still challenging to experienced artists; enrollment is limited and paced so that participants leave with a finished work of art. Classes take place in a renovated studio whose stained-glass windows and stonework, for 48 years, marked the building as the original Enders Island chapel.
- Iconography
- Illumination & Calligraphy
- Painting & Drawing (watercolor, oil)
- Stained Glass (including workshop with Fabio Pizzol)
- Sculpture & Woodworking
- Pysanky Egg Decoration
- Choir & Chant
- Sacred Art Retreats & Gatherings
- National Eucharistic Art Exhibition
Recovery Ministry
St. Edmund's Retreat operates the St. Maximilian Kolbe Recovery Residence, a sober-living community for men, together with weekly recovery meetings, recovery-focused retreats, and pastoral care grounded in 12-Step spirituality. The mission complements the retreat and sacred-art ministries and draws on decades of experience walking with those seeking freedom from addiction.
- St. Maximilian Kolbe Recovery Residence (men)
- Recovery retreats
- Weekly 12-Step / AA meetings
- Spiritual direction for those in recovery
Clergy Sabbatical Program
St. Edmund's Retreat offers residential sabbaticals for diocesan and religious priests, brothers, and seminarians who are facing burnout, depression, anxiety, addiction, or other mental-health and behavioral issues. Residents live in the rhythm of the Church's liturgical calendar — Morning Prayer, daily Mass, Holy Hour, Rosary, Evening Prayer, Night Prayer — and have access to multiple chapels and a grotto. Sabbaticals are led by Fr. Tom Hoar, SSE, and the sabbatical team, including Deacon Steven DeMartino.
- Daily Liturgy of the Hours
- Personal spiritual direction with Fr. Tom Hoar
- Daily 12-Step meetings
- Trauma-informed pastoral care
- Creativity programs in the Sacred Arts (including woodworking)
- Directed retreats and customized programs for women religious
Staff and Leadership
The chapel and Enders Island are led by an Edmundite priest and a lay leadership team. Fr. Thomas F.X. Hoar, SSE, serves as President & CEO and is the community's resident priest; he has been on staff at St. Edmund's Retreat since 1993 and is also Catholic Contract Chaplain at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton, CT. Operational leadership is supported by a chief operating officer, directors of programs, facilities, housekeeping, and communications, alongside two permanent deacons.
- Fr. Thomas F.X. (Tom) Hoar, SSE — President & CEO
- Shawn Robinson — Chief Operating Officer & VP of Operations
- Tracie Georgetti — Director of Programs
- Christian Careb — Director of Facilities
- John Macias — Director of Housekeeping
- Claire St. Clair — Office Manager
- Jacinta Simoncini — Communications Director
- Deacon Steven DeMartino — VP, Missions and Programs
- Deacon Francis Valliere — Executive Assistant to the CEO; Coordinator for the Sacred Art Institute
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Jeremiah T. Purtill, SSE1954 onward
Superior General of the Society of St. Edmund; Pawcatuck, CT native and 1929 graduate of Saint Michael's College; accepted Alys Enders' gift of Enders Island in early January 1954; oversaw the novitiate years and the launch of retreat ministry.