About St. Frances Cabrini · West Pawlet, Vermont
St. Frances Cabrini is a small Roman Catholic mission church in the rural hamlet of West Pawlet, in the slate-quarrying hills of western Rutland County, Vermont. It has long served as a mission of Our Lady of Seven Dolors Parish in nearby Fair Haven, within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, and for years was cared for by priests of the Society of Divine Vocations (Vocationist Fathers, S.D.V.). The Diocese of Burlington lists the mission at 3714 Route 153, West Pawlet, with mail directed to the parish office at 10 Washington Street, Fair Haven. As of recent diocesan postings, the church is listed as closed, part of the broader impact of the national priest shortage and immigration-related challenges that ended the Vocationist order's ministry in southwestern Vermont in 2021. The mission is named for St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the Italian-born foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart and the first naturalized U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint, who is honored as patron of immigrants.
- Established
- 1946
- Patron
- St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850–1917), Italian-born foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart and patron saint of immigrants; the first naturalized United States citizen to be canonized.
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington
Why belong here
For generations, St. Frances Cabrini gave Catholic families in the Slate Valley a local place to worship close to the quarries and farms of West Pawlet, under the pastoral care of Our Lady of Seven Dolors in Fair Haven. Its shared life with the parent parish offered Sunday Mass, Christmas liturgy, and seasonal Penance services during Advent and Lent — a faithful, small-scale Catholic presence in one of Vermont's most rural corners. Today, parishioners are encouraged to participate in the liturgies and sacramental life at Our Lady of Seven Dolors and the surrounding Burlington-diocese parishes that now serve the area.
Mass times at St. Frances Cabrini
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Penance Services held during Advent and Lent (pre-closure, per Catholic Church Directory listing)
Identity & Patron
St. Frances Cabrini Mission takes its name and devotion from St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850–1917), the Italian-born foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart who became the first naturalized U.S. citizen to be canonized (Pius XII, July 7, 1946). She is the universal patron of immigrants, a fitting patron for a mission rooted in Vermont's historic Slate Valley quarrying communities, which drew Italian stoneworkers in earlier generations. Her memorial is celebrated in the United States on November 13.
- Patron: St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, M.S.C.
- Feast (USA): November 13
- Declared patron of immigrants by Pope Pius XII in 1950
Diocese & Parent Parish
The mission belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, and is administered as one of two missions attached to Our Lady of Seven Dolors Parish, 10 Washington Street, Fair Haven. The other mission in the cluster is St. Matthew of Avalon in West Castleton. Day-to-day administration, the parish office, the rectory, and sacramental records are all handled through the Fair Haven parish.
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington
- Parent parish: Our Lady of Seven Dolors, Fair Haven, VT
- Sibling mission: St. Matthew of Avalon, West Castleton
History
Founded in 1946 as a mission served out of the Poultney-area Catholic community (per the Vermont Catholic parish chronology), the church was established the very year of Mother Cabrini's canonization. For decades it was cared for by priests of the Society of Divine Vocations (Vocationist Fathers, S.D.V.). In 2021, immigration-visa complications for one of the order's priests forced the Vocationists to withdraw from four Rutland County parishes at once — Fair Haven, Castleton, Orwell, and West Pawlet — and the Diocese of Burlington now lists St. Frances Cabrini as closed.
- Founded 1946 (Vermont Genealogy Library parish chronology)
- Same year as the canonization of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (July 7, 1946)
- Cared for by the Vocationist Fathers (S.D.V.) through 2021
- Listed as closed on vermontcatholic.org
Mass & Sacramental Schedule
In its active years, the mission's published schedule listed a single Sunday Mass, a Christmas Eve liturgy, and seasonal Penance Services during Advent and Lent. The Diocese of Burlington and the Discover Mass and Catholic Church Directory listings all show the church as currently closed for regular worship; parishioners in the West Pawlet area are directed to Our Lady of Seven Dolors in Fair Haven and the other Burlington-diocese parishes that share clergy in the Slate Valley.
- Sunday Mass: 11:00 AM (pre-closure)
- Christmas Eve: 4:00 PM (pre-closure)
- Penance Services: Advent and Lent (pre-closure)
- Current status: Church closed; see Our Lady of Seven Dolors, Fair Haven
Clergy & Religious Order
Saint Frances Cabrini was long served by priests of the Society of Divine Vocations (Vocationist Fathers, S.D.V.), an international religious congregation founded in Italy. Father Antony Pittappilly, S.D.V., served as pastor of the parent parish Our Lady of Seven Dolors, with Father Denniskingsley Nwagwu, S.D.V., as parochial vicar, both reaching the West Pawlet mission from the Fair Haven rectory. Father Eric Ugochukwu, S.D.V., and Father Rony Rappai, S.D.V., also served the cluster until the order's 2021 withdrawal.
- Fr. Antony Pittappilly, S.D.V. — Pastor (Our Lady of Seven Dolors)
- Fr. Denniskingsley Nwagwu, S.D.V. — Parochial Vicar
- Fr. Eric Ugochukwu, S.D.V.
- Fr. Rony Rappai, S.D.V. (religious-worker visa, returned 2021)
Location & Contact
The mission sits along Route 153 in the small rural community of West Pawlet, in the slate-country hills of western Rutland County near the New York border. Parish mail is handled through the Fair Haven parish office. All inquiries, sacramental requests, and pastoral care are directed to the Our Lady of Seven Dolors rectory.
- Physical address: 3714 Route 153, West Pawlet, VT 05775
- Mailing address: 10 Washington Street, Fair Haven, VT 05743
- Parish phone: (802) 265-3135
- Diocese website: vermontcatholic.org/church/st-frances-cabrini-west-pawlet/
Related: Our Lady of Seven Dolors, Fair Haven
Because the West Pawlet mission shares its pastoral life with Our Lady of Seven Dolors in Fair Haven, a few notes on the parent parish help round out the picture. The Fair Haven church is listed in the Vermont Catholic parish chronology from 1856 (parish formally constituted 1866), and its present church building was constructed in 1873. In 2018, after about five years of fundraising and labor, the Vocationist pastor completed a $120,000 restoration that included three new sanctuary icons — the Incarnation, Jesus the Bread of Life, and the Resurrection — a new tabernacle blessed by Bishop Christopher Coyne, a new Adoration Chapel, new carpeting, crown molding, repainted and polished pews, and stencilwork on the walls.
- Parent parish founded 1856/1866; present church built 1873
- 2018 restoration: $120,000 project completed under Fr. Pittappilly, S.D.V.
- New tabernacle blessed by Bishop Christopher Coyne, April 2018
- Three sanctuary icons: Incarnation, Bread of Life, Resurrection
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Vocationist Fathers (S.D.V.) of Our Lady of Seven Dolors, Fair Haventhrough 2021
St. Frances Cabrini was administered as a mission of Our Lady of Seven Dolors by Vocationist Fathers, including Fr. Antony Pittappilly (pastor), Fr. Denniskingsley Nwagwu (parochial vicar), Fr. Eric Ugochukwu, and Fr. Rony Rappai. Their ministry ended in 2021 when the order withdrew from southwestern Vermont.