("The working day as we set it up that fall began with early mass in Georgetown, four miles away," Fitzgerald wrote.

These include Brazilian, Latin, Creole, French, Igbo/Nigerian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Lithuanian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

The Catholic Church in Fairfield County, in Connecticut and in America faced ongoing challenges through much of its history as diverse immigrant groups struggled to acclimate themselves to American culture.

[8] This began to change with the onset of the American Revolution:"In the summer of 1781, French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau and his army marched through Connecticut, encamping in the Ridgebury section of Ridgefield, where the first Catholic mass [in Fairfield County] was offered.

"[9] After the American Revolution, between 1780 and 1781 in Lebanon the first Catholic "Mass was first celebrated, continuously and for a long period, within the limits of the State of Connecticut.

[13][page needed] By 1835, the rector of the New Haven church estimated there were 720 Catholics in Fairfield County, with Bridgeport home of the biggest community, about 100 people.

In 1842, St. James the Apostle Church (Irish) was dedicated by Bishop Benedict Fenwick of the Diocese of Boston in Bridgeport.

Catholics in Stamford, Greenwich and other towns were ministered to by the Bridgeport rector and by Jesuit priests based at Fordham College in New York City.

Sacred Heart Parish (Irish) was organized in 1883; until the church was ready for services, mass was held at the Opera House.

In 1890, James Nihil purchased the Eli Thompson estate; the Board of Education allowed the use of the Grand Street School until St. Patrick's Church was ready for services.

St. Michael's "Chapel of Ease" (funded and administered by Sacred Heart Parish) was constructed in Bridgeport in 1895; the Sisters of Mercy operated a school in the rear portion of the building.

During his tenure in Bridgeport, Shehan established 18 new parishes, built 24 new churches, and founded three high schools.

[19] He also formed a Catholic Youth Organization, promoted vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and began parish ministry for the increasing number of Hispanic, Portuguese, and Brazilian immigrants.

[19] In 1960, Shehan convoked the first synod of Bridgeport to complete the initial organization of the diocese and to establish a uniform code of practice and discipline for the clergy.

While serving in Bridgeport, Lori refused to release the names of diocesan priests who were being sued for sexual abuse of minors.

He mandated that pastors serve six-year renewable periods at parishes and required that they submit their resignations when they turned 75, much like bishops did.

[24] In an interview with America Magazine, Caggiano said that one of his first priorities as bishop was reaching out to the high percentage of Catholics in the diocese who no longer attend mass.

[26] In 2018, Caggiano announced that liturgical norms and regulations in the diocese would be revised over the next four-year period as a result of discussions from the diocesan synod.

Caggiano said that these newer regulations would "allow us to pray effectively and reverently as a Church" and would be the newest norms implemented since 1983.

[34] In May 2014, Bishop Caggiano removed John Stronkowski from his post at St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Church in Shelton, citing absenteeism.

The majority of the cost of settlements (approximately 92%) was provided through the sale of diocesan property, insurance recoveries and other co-defendants.

[38] In October 2019, former Connecticut Superior Court Judge Robert Holzberg released the results of his investigation, commissioned by Caggiano, into the diocese's handling of accusations of sexual abuse by its priests.

Holzberg found that Bishops Shehan, Curtis and Egan consistently failed to fulfill their moral and legal responsibilities.

[39][41] However, the report praised the reforms made by Bishops Lori and Caggiano to combat sex abuse; Holzberg compared their tenures to that of their three predecessors as "a tale of two cities.