SAINT EMERY’s Church was founded in 1932 and the interior of the Church was restored in 2000. In 1971, SAINT STEPHEN of HUNGARY Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut was closed after 84 years. The communities of St. Emery and St. Stephen of Hungary merged in 1971 forming a single parish in Fairfield, Connecticut.
The Priests and Parishioners of Saint Emery’s Catholic Church extend a warm and open welcome for everyone seeking a place to worship and serve a loving God.
Saint Emery’s Parish has faithfully served its people, young and old, celebrating the risen lord for 80 years bringing to them the true spirit and love of Christ.
Browse our website to learn about St. Emery’s Parish, our mission, our ministries, and our outreach and social activities. Read our rich history and enjoy a pictorial tour of the beautiful paintings, stained glass windows (the St. Francis story), tapestries and imported statues located throughout the church.
The Weekly Bulletin web link, Announcements and ‘Where to Find it’ on this website, are below.
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FROM OUR PASTOR
As Pastor of St. Emery’s Parish of the Diocese of Bridgeport, I would like to extend a sincere welcome to all of you. St. Emery’s is open to all. Our people are and have been dedicated to serving the Lord and its parish community for many decades. Although St. Emery’s roots are founded in the proud Hungarian culture and the Franciscan Order, today St. Emery has parishioners from many backgrounds. The Church now, and as it always has been before, openly welcomes people from every community and nationality who wish to embrace the Catholic Christian faith to worship and serve our Lord.
I invite you to browse our website to learn about St. Emery’s Parish, its people, its history and our outreach projects and social events.
May God be with you,
Father Montanaro __________________________________
WEEKLY BULLETIN (via LPI web link)
St. Emery’s 2012 Weekly Bulletin’s can be displayed by clicking-on the dates below.
- May 27 – Pentecost Sunday
Easter Season Weekly Bulletins.
- May 20 – Seventh Sunday of Easter
- May 13 – Sixth Sunday of Easter
- May 6 – Fifth Sunday of Easter
- April 29 – Fourth Sunday of Easter
- April 22 – Third Sunday of Easter
- April 15 – Devine Mercy Sunday
- April 8 – Easter Sunday
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EASTER SEASON
The Lord has Risen
The Easter Season begins with the celebration of the Easter Vigil on Easter Sunday and ends 50 days later with the Feast of Pentecost Sunday.
————– EASTER SEASON ————- (Click-on photos to enlarge)
The fifty days from Easter Sunday are celebrated as one religious Feast Day.
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SPECIAL WEBSITE ADDITION
- A special website page has been added with a number of photographs of St. Emery’s parishioners from Sunday’s 9:00 AM Easter Mass. The website navigation bar designation is Easter 2012.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Major Restoration project completed. See Social (navigation bar) News section
- The Ladies Victorian Tea was held on April 29, 2012 in St. Emery’s Church Hall. Full coverage of the event can be found in the Social (navigation bar) Recent Events section
- The Rosary. Before every Sunday’s 9:00 AM Mass, the Rosary is now being said for those who wish to enjoy this peaceful prayer time. The Rosary recital starts 20 minutes before the Mass
- The St. Padre Pio trip to New York City date is June 2, 2012. Details of the tour, including the Little Italy Restaurant Lunch menu, can be found in the Social (navigation bar) section
- Roast Beef Dinner to be held on Saturday, June 9, 2012 in St. Emery’s Church Hall. Details can be found in the Social (navigation bar) section
- Bingo reopened on April 12 and is being held every Thursday 6:30 PM in the St. Emery Church Hall. See also Social (navigation bar) section
- The new Church Outdoor Sign has been installed. A photo of the sign is shown in the Social (navigation bar – News) section
- Organist. St. Emery is looking to hire a permanent Organist for Sunday Masses. If interested or know of someone, please contact Father Montanaro (203 336-1835) or Mary Venturini (203 334-0312) Parish Secretary
WHERE TO FIND IT
To stay abreast of all current St. Emery Parish activities go to the Outreach (Charity) and Social (News and Events) designations on the website navigation bar. Outreach covers Charity functions either underway or being planned. Social covers Latest News, Upcoming Events and coverage of Recent Events.
St. Emery registration and contact information including street address, telephone numbers, email address, directions/map-link and parking information can be found in the navigation bar Contact/Registration section.
As points of interest, a photograph showing St. Emery’s Church during construction in 1932 was recently discovered as well as a discovery of a one-of-a-kind lost sculpture of St. Stephen. Both are shown in the History section.
Ever wonder what the Latin inscriptions mean on the 130 year old rare stained glass windows in the Church? Father Charles Allen S. J., Assistant to the President at Fairfield University, who is versed in Latin, translated these inscriptions to English and they are quite elegant. We thank him for his effort. The translations can be found in the Sacramental Life section.
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Inside St. Emery’s Church
A view inside of St. Emery’s Church showing location of the Saint Emery/Saint Stephen mural painting over the Altar in the Sanctuary.
The marble Altar, a portion of the Church nave beautiful ceiling art, religious statues, and other paintings can also be seen as part of the major restoration that took place in 2000.
(Click 0n all photographs to enlarge)
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Altar Mural with St. Stephen and St. Emery
The Sanctuary mural painting (banner on top of this web page) is one of the most recognizable art pieces in the Church from 1932. The painting shows St. Stephen of Hungary offering a blessing with his young son St. Emery kneeling beside him.
The Sanctuary mural figures were carefully restored to their original condition and the background structure was added in 2000. The original mural figures were painted by Italian artist Joseph Natale.
Sanctuary showing Altar and upper Stained Glass Windows
A larger view of the Altar and mural painting (right) reveals the three stained glass windows located above the Altar dating from 1932 (see below). The Altar mural is copy of a painting by the renown European Artist Karoly Lotz, the Prince of Hungarian Artists.
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Every window in the Church portrays a biblical story, event or religious symbolism.
Last Supper. The Good Shepherd
The Sanctuary window to the left of the Altar portrays the Last Supper with Jesus and Saint Peter and a present apostle. Note the shepherd’s staff below Jesus’ feet symbolizing Jesus the Good Shepherd.
The Crucifixion, Virgin Mary and Joseph of Arimathea
The window in the upper center of the Sanctuary shows Jesus on the Crucifix with the Virgin Mary and Joseph of Arimathea, who recovered Jesus’ body, by his side.
Good Samaritan Women
The Sanctuary window to the right of the Altar symbolizes a parable with Jesus asking for and receiving water (the living water) from the Good Samaritan Women.
We truly appreciate donations given to St. Emery's Church at anytime. Such donations are used for the continued preservation of our historic Church.
St. Emery’s Church is wheelchair accessible from the rear-side door on Biro Street (Cardinal Mindszenty Square). The Church Hall does not have wheelchair access.
