About St. Mary · Stonington, Connecticut
St. Mary Church is a Roman Catholic parish located in the historic Stonington Borough of Stonington, Connecticut, in the Diocese of Norwich. Founded in 1851 to serve Irish and Portuguese Catholic families of the fishing community, the parish is now part of the Holy Cross Community alongside St. Michael the Archangel Church in Pawcatuck. The current church building, at 22 Broad Street, was constructed in 1901 to replace the original 1851 structure. Today the parish is led by Very Rev. Dennis M. Perkins as pastor, with Rev. Jeffrey Ellis serving as parochial vicar, and the church remains the spiritual home of Stonington's beloved annual Blessing of the Fleet.
- Established
- 1851
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Very Rev. Dennis M. Perkins
- Diocese
- Diocese of Norwich
Why belong here
St. Mary is the spiritual home of Stonington Borough's centuries-old fishing community and one of the Diocese of Norwich's most tradition-rich parishes. Visitors are welcomed into the heart of two living customs: the summer Blessing of the Fleet — opening with the Fishermen's Mass celebrated right at St. Mary — and the spring Our Lady of Fatima candlelit procession through the Borough streets. Daily Mass Monday through Friday and a Sunday liturgy offer a quiet, neighborhood-sized parish in which to pray alongside a multigenerational Catholic community with deep Portuguese and Irish roots.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturdays at 3:00 PM at St. Michael Church, 60 Liberty St., Pawcatuck (by appointment otherwise)
Adoration times
- Benediction following the Our Lady of Fatima procession in May (annual)
Welcome & Identity
The parish's own website opens by describing St. Mary Church as a place where visitors may 'learn more about our church and our faith,' reflecting the parish's small-scale, neighborhood character in the Stonington Borough. St. Mary belongs to the Holy Cross Community of the Diocese of Norwich, sharing pastoral leadership with St. Michael the Archangel Church in Pawcatuck.
Parish Staff & Clergy
The parish is currently served by Very Rev. Dennis M. Perkins as pastor and Rev. Jeffrey Ellis as parochial vicar, with Anita Kapolowicz serving as parish secretary. Fr. Perkins also serves as pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Church and (until its closure) St. Thomas More, and he additionally serves as Vicar for Clergy for the Diocese of Norwich and teaches Latin at St. Michael School.
- Very Rev. Dennis M. Perkins — Pastor
- Rev. Jeffrey Ellis — Parochial Vicar
- Anita Kapolowicz — Parish Secretary
History of St. Mary Church
St. Mary's was formed in 1851 to meet the spiritual needs of Irish and Portuguese Catholic families who had settled along the Stonington coast. The original 1851 church was expanded in 1867 with two wings forming a cross-shaped layout and was eventually replaced by the present 1901 building at 22 Broad Street. The parish was at the center of the broader Catholic history of eastern Connecticut — its 1859 'daughter,' St. Michael the Archangel in Pawcatuck, grew out of St. Mary's as the Catholic population shifted northward.
- 1851 — parish founded; first church erected under Rev. P. Duffy
- 1867 — two wings added, forming a cross-shaped church
- 1859 — Diocese of Hartford transfers the parish seat to Pawcatuck, creating St. Michael the Archangel
- 1901 — present church building constructed on the Broad Street site
- 1950s — Portuguese community emerges as the majority of local fishermen
- 1956 — first Blessing of the Fleet celebrated
- 1960s — Our Lady of Fatima Society founded in Stonington
- 2019 — St. Mary formally united with St. Michael and St. Thomas More as one parish
Portuguese Heritage & Maritime Tradition
St. Mary is the spiritual center of Stonington's Portuguese-American fishing community, a heritage that goes back to the 1840s and 1850s when Azorean and Cape Verdean sailors settled along the coast. The parish's two great public traditions — the summer Blessing of the Fleet and the spring Our Lady of Fatima procession — both begin at St. Mary's church and flow out into the streets of the Stonington Borough.
- Blessing of the Fleet — annual, late July, since 1956
- Our Lady of Fatima Society — founded in the 1960s
- Holy Ghost Society Feast — September, parish-wide participation
Our Lady of Fatima Society
The Our Lady of Fatima Society, founded in Stonington during the 1960s, is one of the parish's most distinctive lay organizations. Members meet on the second Sunday of each month at 4:00 PM at St. Mary Church to pray the Rosary, with a summer break in June, July and August. The Society's annual May feast — celebrated on the weekend after Mother's Day — features a Saturday Vigil Mass and Rosary and a Sunday 10:30 AM Mass followed by a candlelit procession through the streets of the Stonington Borough, with a life-sized statue of Our Lady of Fatima carried on a bed of white carnations.
- Monthly Rosary — 2nd Sunday of the month at 4:00 PM at St. Mary
- Annual May Feast — vigil Mass, procession, Benediction
- Participation in the September Holy Ghost Society Feast
- Participation in the July Blessing of the Fleet
- Contact: Maria Henry
Blessing of the Fleet
The Blessing of the Fleet is Stonington's signature summer tradition and begins at St. Mary Church each year. On the designated Saturday, the Fishermen's Mass is celebrated at 10:30 AM at St. Mary, followed by a procession through the streets of the Borough (with marching bands, schoolchildren from St. Michael School, the Knights of Columbus, fire and ambulance crews, and area fishing families) and ending with the bishop's blessing at the Stonington docks. The tradition dates to July 1, 1956, and was inspired by similar observances in other Portuguese fishing communities.
- First celebrated July 1, 1956
- Opens with 10:30 AM Fishermen's Mass at St. Mary
- Procession through the Borough streets
- Blessing at the docks by the Bishop of Norwich
- Statue of St. Peter, patron of fishermen, carried in procession
Holy Cross Community & Related Churches
St. Mary is one of the two remaining worship sites of the Holy Cross Community, a single parish formed in 2019 by the union of St. Mary, St. Michael the Archangel (Pawcatuck), and St. Thomas More. Following changes in Mass attendance and active priest numbers in the Diocese of Norwich, the St. Thomas More property was sold in 2025 and a final Mass was celebrated there on January 10, 2026. St. Michael School is operated as a mission of the wider parish, and Fr. Perkins teaches Latin there.
- St. Michael the Archangel Church — 60 Liberty Street, Pawcatuck
- St. Thomas More — final Mass January 10, 2026; property sold 2025
- St. Michael School — parish mission school
Contact & Practical Information
The parish office is located at the St. Michael Rectory, 60 Liberty Street, Pawcatuck, CT 06379, and can be reached at (860) 535-1700 or by email at [email protected]. The mailing and physical address often given for the church itself is 95 Main Street, Stonington, CT 06378, with the church building standing at 22 Broad Street in the Stonington Borough.
- Parish office: 60 Liberty Street, Pawcatuck, CT 06379
- Church: 22 Broad Street (mailing: 95 Main St.), Stonington, CT 06378
- Phone: (860) 535-1700
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://stmarychurch-stonington.weconnect.com/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. P. Duffy1851 (founding)
First pastor; supervised the erection of the original 1851 church by subscriptions from Catholics of Stonington, Westerly and the Mystics.
- Rev. Father Murphycirca 1900
Listed in the 1900 History of the Town of Stonington as pastor, with St. Mary then served as an out-mission from Mystic.