History of St. Edward's

The founding of the new Diocese of Bridgeport in August of 1953 brought a new vision to Fairfield County. 

The first parish to be founded was St. Edward the Confessor Church in New Fairfield, CT. In the winter of 1954 discussions were held and property was purchased for the beginnings of a church in New Fairfield. Bishop Lawrence J. Shehan, the first bishop of Bridgeport, entrusted the establishment of the new parish to Fr. Joseph Maglione. Fr. Maglione was instrumental in gathering 100 volunteers who collected $100,000 towards the building of the church, which started on March 27, 1955 and was completed by April 1956. The church was dedicated, and the cornerstone laid on July 1, 1956 by Bishop Shehan.

Fr. Maglione would watch the faith grow in our parish until the spring of 1962 when he resigned to take a full-time chaplain position at the federal prison. He is celebrated as the priest who named our parish after St. Edward the Confessor. St. Edward reigned as king of England in 1042 to 1066 A.D., a period marked by great peace. He was well known for his generosity to the poor, his encouragement of monastics, and for his own personal piety in attending Mass every morning. He won over the hearts of his people with his love and harmonious administration. 

Fr. Maglione went on to say, “There were several reasons for my choice. First of all, I wanted a name that was different from any other church in Connecticut. Secondly, New Fairfield was such an unusually peaceful area. It had no road and there was just the Brush homestead on the property. Since St. Edward is known to have reigned in peace for forty years, during one of England’s most violent periods, it seemed to fit. Even the fact that he was a king applied. After all, hadn’t the people of New Fairfield treated me so regally?” 

On June 15, 1962 Fr. James Dennis became the first pastor at St. Edward the Confessor Church. He would lead our parish through many years of change in the Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council, including the reforms to the Church’s Liturgy and prayers. He oversaw the birth of the Parish Council and an increase in the involvement of the laity. Through Fr. Dennis’ leadership the parish grew: baptizing more than 50 babies a year, celebrating 64 First Communions and 50 Confirmations. This growth was a reflection of the increased population of New Fairfield.

On June 8, 1964 one Margaret O'Neil donated 10 acres of land in Sherman, CT to St. Edward the Confessor Parish in New Fairfield with the stipulation that the land could be used only for the construction of a church.                                        

In 1969, Fr. Daniel Foley became the second pastor of St. Edward the Confessor Parish. He will be remembered for his fiscal insight, managerial skills, his vision, and foresight which were instrumental in the life of our parish and the purchase of the Murphy home on 1 Gillotti Road, which is the site of our current rectory. In 1975, he began the fundraising for what would eventually become Holy Trinity Chapel. The groundbreaking for the chapel took place in May of 1981, with Mrs. Margaret O'Neil (the donor of the land) given the honor of being the first to break ground. In December of the same year the chapel is dedicated to the honor of the Holy Trinity and set up as a mission of St. Edward the Confessor. St. Edward's own curate, Fr. David Riley, was given the responsibility of ministering to the new chapel community and eventually named as pastor of the community following its elevation to the status of independent parish on June 3, 1985.

The third pastor was Fr. Edmund Hussy. Fr. Hussy served as our pastor for one year before he was reassigned to minister as Hospital Chaplain to St. Joseph Hospital in Stamford. 

Fr. Stanley Rousseau was appointed as the fourth pastor of St. Edward the Confessor in 1984. Fr. Rousseau was a deeply spiritual man and concentrated on renewing the liturgical life of the parish. During his pastorate a pipe organ was donated in memory of Mr. James Dolan, adding great musical reverence to the liturgies. It was also during this time that many new parish ministries were born. With the guidance of the Parish Council and Finance Committee, the parish purchased the Adult Ministry Center at 1 Barnum Road to better serve the adult education efforts of the parish, including RCIA and the Social Concerns Ministries. Fr. Rousseau left in 1991 to return to inner-city work.

Msgr. Martin P. Ryan was installed as the fifth pastor of St. Edward the Confessor parish on December 8, 1991 by Bishop Edward M. Egan. Under his leadership and spiritual commitment, the parish embarked on a $3,000,000 building project geared towards the construction for a new place of worship and the renovation of the old church into our current parish hall, office spaces, and meeting rooms. Msgr. Ryan resigned as pastor in May 2011 after serving for nearly 20 years.

Fr. Joe Cervero joined St. Edward the Confessor Church in 2001 as a associate pastor. He was essential in leading the youth of the parish through volunteer work camps and helping the parish through his fundraising efforts. He was appointed pastor of St. Patrick's Church in Redding, CT in 2010. 

Fr. Sebastian Ukwandu was assigned as a associate pastor to St. Edward the Confessor in June of 2009. Originally from Nigeria, he added a special spirituality to the parish and focuses on parish life including social concerns and family life. Fr. Sebastian’s father, Chief Sebastine Ukwandu, sadly passed away in December of 2010. Fr. Sebastian returned to Nigeria for the funeral services and still remains in Nigeria.

Fr. Jeff Couture was assigned as the next associate pastor for St. Edward the Confessor in June of 2010. He played an essential role in the growth of our youth ministries. He was reassigned in November of 2011 to join St. Mary's Parish in Bethel as associate pastor.

Fr. Nick Cirillo was appointed as the sixth pastor of St. Edward the Confessor Church in June of 2011 and installed on December 11, 2011 by Bishop William E. Lori. Born and raised in Bridgeport CT, he was a native of Bridgeport and Trumbull, Connecticut. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1995 and was an alumnus of Fairfield University, the Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. His first assignment after ordination was as parochial vicar at St. Lawrence Parish in Huntington (Shelton), Connecticut. In 2005 he was appointed chaplain of Trinity Catholic High School in Stamford, CT while also serving as the chief spiritual formator at the former St. John Fisher Seminary in Stamford. Fr. Nick was appointed administrator of Holy Trinity Parish in Sherman in November of 2021 following the reassignment of their pastor Fr. Richard Gemza.

Fr. Henry Hoffman was appointed as associate pastor for our parish in July of 2011 after previously serving in the same capacity at St. Joseph Church in Brookfield. After serving for two years in New Fairfield, he was reassigned to serve at Saint Jude Parish in Monroe during the summer of 2013..
 
Fr. Karol Ksiazek was assigned to St. Edward the Confessor as its new associate pastor in August of 2013. Originally from Poland, Father Karol completed his diaconate service at St. Pius X Parish in Fairfield and was assigned to St. Therese Parish in Trumbull prior to his assignment at St. Edward the Confessor. Fr. Karol brought a unique perspective and many talents to our parish, one of which was his work with prison ministry. After serving for more than 5 years a St. Edward's, Fr. Karol was re-assigned to St. Joseph Church in Brookfield and then later named administrator of St. Margaret Mary Church in Shelton in January of 2021 during the COVID 19 Pandemic.

Fr. Harry Prieto was assigned as the parish’s new associate pastor in November of 2017. Originally from Bogotà, Colombia, Fr. Harry had discerned a religious vocation during his time at the Jesuit University of Bogota and had completed studies at the Seminario Mayor de Bogotà before moving to the United States in the summer of 2009. Having discerned diocesan priesthood, he enrolled in the formation program at the former St. John Fisher Seminary in Stamford and was later ordained in 2017 after completing his seminary studies at the Theological College of the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. In 2020, Fr. Harry was reassigned as associate pastor at St. Mary Church in Bethel.

Fr. Robert Wolfe was assigned to St. Edward's as an associate pastor in September of 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic. A native of Shelton, Fr. Wolfe entered priestly formation in the fall of 2006 at the former St. John Fisher Seminary in Stamford and upon completion of his collegial studies was assigned to the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy. Fr. Wolfe was ordained to the priesthood on May 17, 2014 at St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport by the Most Rev. Frank J. Caggiano. After ordination he was briefly assigned to St. John Church in Darien before returning to Rome to complete his licentiate degree in Sacramental Theology at the Pontifical Athenium of St. Anselm in the Spring of 2015. Fr. Wolfe’s first parish assignment upon returning to the diocese was at St. Mary Church in Bethel, CT from 2015 to 2020. 

Fr. Tim Iannacone became the most recently assigned associate pastor for St. Edward in May of 2021, after assisting at the parish for the month of April. A native of Norwalk, Fr. Tim completed his seminary studies at Theological College of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. in 2017 (S.T.B./M.Div.). He was ordained to the priesthood on June 24, 2017 by the Most Rev. Frank J. Caggiano at St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport. Fr. Tim was first assigned to St. Pius X in Fairfield before joining St. Edward the Confessor. 

The parishes of St. Edward the Confessor and Holy Trinity were officially merged into a single parish "St. Edward the Confessor Parish" on July 1, 2022 and Fr. Robert Wolfe was appointed as administrator of the new parish, following Fr. Nick's stepping down from active ministry, while retaining status as Pastor, for medical reasons. Fr. Nick entered into eternal rest on August 28, 2022.