About Our Lady of the Assumption · Fairfield, Connecticut
Our Lady of the Assumption is a Roman Catholic parish in the Stratfield section of Fairfield, Connecticut, belonging to the Diocese of Bridgeport. Founded in 1922 as a mission from St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, it is anchored by a Norman Gothic Revival church designed by architect J. Gerald Phelan and dedicated in 1940. The parish runs a busy sacramental life — five Sunday Masses, a daily Mass, weekly Eucharistic Adoration, and a Confession hour — and is the spiritual home of Assumption Catholic School, formed from the 2010 merger of the parish grade school with Holy Family School. Active in charity work with the Bridgeport Rescue Mission, Operation Hope, and the Blessed Sacrament Food Pantry, the parish is currently led by Rev. Miroslaw "Mirek" Stachurski, appointed by Bishop Frank Caggiano in 2024.
- Established
- 1922
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Assumption (the Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Rev. Miroslaw "Mirek" Stachurski
- Diocese
- Diocese of Bridgeport
Why belong here
Assumption is a welcoming, musically rich parish centered on a beautiful 1940 Norman Gothic church whose granite, rose window and Botticino-marble altar still anchor its liturgy. Families find a full sacramental schedule — five Sunday Masses plus a daily Mass, Monday evening Mass with Adoration, weekly Confession, and First Friday All-Night Adoration — together with a Faith Formation program for grades 1–8, the parish-run Assumption Catholic School (now combined with Holy Family), and an unusually strong corps of lay ministries (Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, Altar Servers, Ushers, Bible Study, Bereavement Support). Its outreach arms — Operation Hope meals, Bridgeport Rescue Mission, the Blessed Sacrament Food Pantry and Home of the Brave — give parishioners concrete ways to serve the wider Bridgeport-Fairfield community.
Mass times at Our Lady of the Assumption
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM in the church
- By appointment — contact a parish priest
Adoration times
- Every Monday 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (Weekly Adoration & Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, following the 5:30 PM Mass)
- First Friday of each month, from 8:00 AM Friday to 7:15 AM Saturday (First Friday All-Day Adoration with abbreviated times posted in the bulletin)
History of Our Lady of the Assumption
Less than a hundred years ago the Catholic Church in America was still in many places a missionary Church. Our Lady of the Assumption traces its origins to the summer of 1921, when Rev. William J. Blake of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in the center of Fairfield celebrated the first Mass in the home of Mr. and Mrs. James Byrnes of Buena Vista Road in Stratfield. The mission was formally organized on January 31, 1922, became a parish in 1923 under Rev. John A. Sullivan, and over the next fifteen years grew large enough to spin off two daughter parishes — Holy Family (Tunis Hill, 1938) and Notre Dame of Easton (1957) — and to build the 1940 Norman Gothic church that remains its liturgical heart. The full succession of pastors runs from Sullivan (1923) through Gloster, Christopher, Msgr. Henahan, Fr. Conklin, Msgr. Gintoli, Fr. Furey (d. 2012), Fr. Quinlan (administrator), Fr. Cipriani, and now Fr. Mirek Stachurski.
The Church Building
Our Lady of the Assumption's 1940 church is recognized as one of the architecturally distinguished Catholic churches in the Diocese of Bridgeport. Its Norman Gothic design by J. Gerald Phelan of the firm Fletcher Thompson used locally quarried granite, a bell tower surmounted by a wrought-iron cross, a rose window above the choir loft, a Botticino-marble altar and a solid sculptured-bronze tabernacle. The annual Solemn High Mass of dedication took place February 4, 1940, and every one of those original architectural details can still be viewed by visitors today.
Mass and Sacraments
Assumption offers a robust sacramental schedule: a daily 7:30 AM Mass Monday through Saturday, a Monday-evening 5:30 PM Mass followed by Adoration, a Saturday Vigil Mass at 4:00 PM, and four Sunday Masses (7:30, 9:00, 10:30 AM and 12:00 PM). Reconciliation (Confession) is heard Saturday afternoons 3:00–3:45 PM in the church, and at other times by appointment. Holy Days of Obligation are typically observed with Masses at 7:30 AM, 12:10 PM and 5:30 PM. The parish prepares children for First Holy Communion and Confirmation through its Faith Formation program, and coordinates weddings, baptisms and Anointing of the Sick through the rectory office.
- Five weekend Masses + one daily Mass
- Weekly Confession Saturday 3–3:45 PM
- Monday evening Mass with Adoration 6–8 PM
- First Friday All-Day Adoration (8 AM Friday to 7:15 AM Saturday)
Faith Formation and Religious Education
Faith Formation at Our Lady of the Assumption "continues to grow and flourish because of the faith, devotion and love of the families involved." Classes meet on Tuesdays — grades 1–5 in the afternoon and grades 6–8 in the evening — and run from the parish Faith Formation office under Director of Religious Education Michael A. Cooney. Office hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Tuesday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; the program can be reached at (203) 367-1108 or [email protected]. The mission statement emphasizes that religious education is "as broad as life itself and as deep as God," inviting parents to share faith at home. The parish shares its Dominican heritage in religious education, a tradition dating to 1948 when three Dominican sisters of Newburgh arrived.
Assumption Catholic School
The parish has run a Catholic school continuously since its first 80 pupils met in the parish hall in 1954, with a dedicated 16-room building opened in September 1955 that served 250 students in grades 1–3. The Class of 1961 was the first graduating class, and Dominican Sisters of Newburgh provided most of the early principals and teachers, including Sister Helen Michael (first principal), Sister Mary Rita (principal 1969 and again 1979–1996), Sister Anne Cecilia, and Sister Mary Denise, alongside exemplary lay teachers like Miss Patricia Brennan. In 2010 the parish school merged with Holy Family School to become Our Lady of the Assumption/Holy Family Catholic School, and in 2015 was renamed Assumption Catholic School ("The Eagles"). Today, with a faith-based curriculum enriched by technology, art, music and physical education, the school draws students from across the surrounding towns and serves as the academic arm of the parish's evangelizing mission.
Parish Ministries
Parish lay ministries form a wide network of service opportunities under the Pastoral Council, Finance Council and two Lay Trustees. Liturgical roles — Lectors, Lay Eucharistic Ministers, Altar Servers, Ushers, and the Arts and Environment team — support Sunday and weekday Masses; faith-formation roles extend to Bible Study and a long-running Bereavement Support ministry. Operationally the parish maintains a Safe Environments (VIRTUS) program for the protection of children and vulnerable adults.
- Lectors
- Lay Eucharistic Ministers
- Altar Servers
- Ushers
- Arts and Environments
- Bible Study
- Bereavement Support
- Safe Environments
Outreach and Charity Partnerships
Assumption partners with several charitable organizations serving the greater Bridgeport area. Operation Hope Meal Preparation involves parishioners in cooking and serving meals to those in need; the parish also supports the Bridgeport Rescue Mission, contributes to the Blessed Sacrament Food Pantry, and takes part in the Home of the Brave program for veterans. These partnerships are central to the parish's sense of Catholic social teaching lived out beyond the church doors.
- Operation Hope
- Bridgeport Rescue Mission
- Blessed Sacrament Food Pantry
- Home of the Brave
The Emmaus Retreat Movement
The parish's most famous diaspora is the Emmaus retreat movement for Catholic teenagers. Deacon George Saulnier (the parish's first permanent deacon) and his wife Elizabeth began Emmaus at Assumption in 1978; within a few years the program spread throughout the Diocese of Bridgeport and beyond, becoming one of the diocese's signature youth-formation programs.
Parish Staff, Advisors and Governance
The "Parish at a Glance" page lists the parish team as three priests (one pastor and one priest-in-residence plus diocesan support), one permanent deacon, eight lay staff, plus a Pastoral Council, a Finance Council and two Lay Trustees. Charity partnerships connect the parish to Operation Hope, the Bridgeport Rescue Mission, the Blessed Sacrament Food Pantry and Home of the Brave. The parish runs five weekend Masses, a daily Mass, weekly Confession, First Friday and weekly Adoration, and a full Faith Formation program.
- Pastor: Rev. Miroslaw "Mirek" Stachurski
- In Residence: Rev. Marcel Saint Jean
- Deacon: Robert McLaughlin
- Director of Sacred Music: Frank Macari
- Director of Religious Education: Michael A. Cooney
- Office Business Manager: Janet Gardella
- Parish Administrative Assistant: Lisa Reed
- Pastoral Council, Finance Council, 2 Lay Trustees
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. William J. Blake1921–1922
Pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas in Fairfield; initiator of the Stratfield mission and first to celebrate Mass (August 1921) in the Byrnes home on Buena Vista Road. Not a resident pastor of Assumption.
- Rev. John A. Sullivan1923–1926
First resident pastor after Assumption was raised to parish status in 1923; served the community from a two-family house on North Avenue.
- Rev. Thomas B. Gloster1926–1939
Took Assumption's census at ~1,200 Catholics (including Holy Family mission) by 1931; established the Holy Family mission in Tunxis Hill; purchased the Stratfield Road/Querida Street rectory site in 1926.
- Rev. Robert Leo Christopher1939–1958
Launched 1939 pledge drive; oversaw design and construction of the Norman Gothic church (architect Gerald Phelan); led the church through its 1940 solemn dedication; supervised construction of Notre Dame church in Easton; died September 17, 1958 at age 62.
- Msgr. Thomas F. Henahan1960–1981
Came from Holy Family (Fairfield) and St. Ambrose (Bridgeport); led the parish through Vatican II; established the Parish Advisory Council; oversaw ordination of the parish's first permanent deacon, George Saulnier. Served over 20 years; celebrated his 50th priestly anniversary before retiring in 1981.
- Rev. William J. Conklin1981–1992
Previously ten years as pastor of St. Joseph's in Shelton. In 1983 launched the renovation of church, rectory and parish hall that left the parish deeply in debt. Died September 1992.
- Msgr. Blase Gintoli1992–2011
Bridgeport native, member of Notre Dame High School's first graduating class; came from Holy Rosary Parish in Bridgeport. Retired to Florida in January 2011 after 18 years; over 500 attended his farewell Mass and reception.
- Rev. J. Barry FureyFebruary 2011 – June 2012
Ordained 1971 by Bishop Curtis; previously 23 years at St. Andrew Parish. Musician who wove his own song "Thank You Lord" into his preaching. Died unexpectedly while on vacation June 27, 2012.
- Rev. William M. QuinlanAugust 2012 – July 2014
Appointed administrator after Fr. Furey's death; ordained 1999 by Cardinal Egan; J.D. from Yeshiva and J.C.L. from Catholic University; also a diocesan tribunal judge. Named pastor of St. Gabriel Parish, Stamford, July 2014.
- Rev. Peter CiprianiJuly 2014 – February 2024
Ordained 2004 by Bishop William Lori after studies at Fordham, Clemson, St. John Fisher and the Pontifical North American College in Rome; previously chaplain of Notre Dame High School. Served 9+ years then named pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish, Newtown.
- Rev. Miroslaw "Mirek" Stachurski2024–present
Born in Ciechanowiec, Poland; ordained January 3, 2003 by Bishop William E. Lori (Mount St. Mary's Seminary, Emmitsburg, 2002). Former assignments: St. Joseph Brookfield, St. Mary Greenwich, Immaculate High School Danbury chaplain, St. Lawrence Shelton, and ten years as pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle in Norwalk. Appointed by Bishop Frank Caggiano.
- Rev. Vincent O'Connor1945–1959
First curate assigned to the parish (under Father Christopher); long-serving assistant pastor.