About Union Church (St. Brendan the Navigator Parish) · Vinalhaven, Maine
Union Church in Vinalhaven, Maine is a summer mission chapel of St. Brendan the Navigator Parish, a multi-island Catholic community based in Camden that serves the mid-coast of Maine including the islands of Vinalhaven, North Haven, and Islesboro. The Catholic faithful on Vinalhaven gather at Union Church — the island's historic 1899 Shingle-style meetinghouse on East Main Street — for Mass or a Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest on Saturdays at 9:00 AM from July through Labor Day. The mission is cared for from the parish office in Camden by Rev. Anthanasius S. Wirsiy (Pastor) and Deacon Vincent Coates, and is one of six worship sites that make up St. Brendan the Navigator Parish in the Diocese of Portland.
- Patron
- St. Brendan the Navigator (parish patron; Union Church itself is dedicated as a Union Meeting House)
- Rector
- Rev. Anthanasius S. Wirsiy
- Diocese
- Diocese of Portland in Maine
Why belong here
Union Church on Vinalhaven is the only Catholic worship site on the island, and it exists so that year-round islanders, summer residents, and visiting Catholics do not have to leave Vinalhaven to keep holy the Sabbath. Because no priest resides on Vinalhaven, the liturgy is celebrated each Saturday morning during the summer season as either Mass or a Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest — a genuine ministry of presence on a remote island in Penobscot Bay. The parish community is small, tied closely to the seasonal rhythm of island life, and welcomes all who come through the doors of this remarkable 1899 Shingle-style landmark.
Mass times at Union Church (St. Brendan the Navigator Parish)
Weekly Mass schedule
About Union Church, Vinalhaven
Union Church in Vinalhaven is the island mission chapel of St. Brendan the Navigator Parish. Located at 25 East Main Street in the center of Vinalhaven, Maine, it serves Catholics on Vinalhaven and the surrounding Fox Islands during the summer season, when year-round islanders, summer residents, and visitors gather for weekend worship. Because no priest resides on the island, the Saturday liturgy is celebrated either as Mass or as a Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest, depending on priestly availability.
History of the Building
The mission's home is the historic Union Church of Vinalhaven. In the spring of 1860, citizens of Vinalhaven formed a society to build a house of worship. Reuben Carver, Moses Webster, and Timothy Lane served as the building committee, purchased the lot on East Main Street, and erected the original church at a cost of $2,850, financed by selling pews. That wooden structure was dedicated to God on October 10, 1860 as a Union Meeting House. It replaced worship that had previously been held in school houses and private residences, and a Sunday School that had been led by William Barter and later John Carver.
- Original Union Meeting House built 1860; cost $2,850
- First building committee: Reuben Carver, Moses Webster, Timothy Lane
- First Trustees: David Vinal, Ezekiel Burgess, Elisha Carver, Chaney Noyes, Nathaniel Ames
The 1899 Shingle-Style Church
The present Union Church was built in 1899 to replace the 1860 structure, at the height of Vinalhaven's granite quarrying and shipping era. It was designed by John Calvin Stevens, Maine's best-known architect of the turn of the 20th century and one of the chief promoters of the Shingle style, and built by contractor Otto Nelson. The single-story wood-frame building is sheathed entirely in dark brown wood shingles, with a steeply pitched gable roof, a massive square bell tower, a shingled entrance porch, lancet-arched Gothic windows, round windows, and white Colonial Revival trim. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 19, 1984 (NRHP #84001388).
- Built 1899; architect John Calvin Stevens; builder Otto Nelson
- Architectural style: Shingle Style with Gothic and Colonial Revival influences
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, July 19, 1984
Mass & Liturgy on Vinalhaven
Catholic worship on Vinalhaven follows the seasonal rhythm of island life. From July through Labor Day, Mass or a Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest is celebrated at Union Church on Saturdays at 9:00 AM. The liturgy is in English.
- Saturday 9:00 AM, English, July through Labor Day
- Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest used when no priest is present
Clergy & Pastoral Care
Pastoral care for Union Church, Vinalhaven is provided from St. Brendan the Navigator Parish's office in Camden. The pastor of the parish is Rev. Anthanasius S. Wirsiy, assisted by Deacon Vincent Coates. Because no priest resides on Vinalhaven, the island mission is visited from the mainland for the summer Saturday liturgy.
- Pastor: Rev. Anthanasius S. Wirsiy
- Deacon: Deacon Vincent Coates
Contact & Visiting the Parish
The mailing address for the Union Church mission is 25 East Main Street, Vinalhaven, ME 04863. All scheduling and pastoral inquiries are handled through the St. Brendan the Navigator Parish office at 7 Union Street, Camden, ME 04843.
- Address: 25 East Main Street, Vinalhaven, ME 04863
- Parish Office: 7 Union Street, Camden, ME 04843
- Phone: (207) 236-4785
- Email: [email protected]
- Parish Office Hours: Mon/Tue/Thu 8:30 AM–3:30 PM; Wed 8:30 AM–12:30 PM; Fri Closed
Getting to Vinalhaven
Vinalhaven is one of the largest islands in Penobscot Bay. Visitors reach the island by the Maine State Ferry Service, which runs year-round out of Rockland, Maine. Once on the island, Union Church is centrally located on East Main Street just east of its junction with Atlantic Avenue.
- Ferry from Rockland, Maine via Maine State Ferry Service
Part of St. Brendan the Navigator Parish
Union Church, Vinalhaven is one of six worship sites that together make up St. Brendan the Navigator Parish in the Diocese of Portland. The parish describes itself as 'a Roman Catholic community serving as a beacon that helps people encounter the transforming love of Jesus Christ through full, conscious, and active celebration of the Sacraments, with special attention to Reconciliation and Eucharist.' The other sites include Our Lady of Good Hope in Camden (the parish office), St. Bernard in Rockland, St. Francis of Assisi in Belfast, St. Mary of the Isles on Islesboro, and a summer Mass site at the Village Episcopal Church on North Haven — a network that brings the Catholic sacraments to the inhabited islands of mid-coast Maine.
- Parish office: Our Lady of Good Hope, 7 Union St., Camden, ME
- Our Lady of Good Hope — Camden
- St. Bernard — Rockland
- St. Francis of Assisi — Belfast
- St. Mary of the Isles — Islesboro
- Village Episcopal Church — North Haven (summer Mass)
Why the Mission Matters
Vinalhaven's Catholic community is small and seasonal, but its presence in the historic Union Church keeps the island connected to the wider diocesan and sacramental life of the Church. By holding the Saturday liturgy in a beloved 19th-century island landmark, the parish makes Catholic worship possible without requiring islanders and visitors to take the ferry off-island — a quiet but vital ministry of presence in Penobscot Bay.