Enders Island is an 11-acre island located within the town of Stonington, just off the coast of the Mystic section of the town, in the U.S. state of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

.Tamulevich, Susan (June, 2013)
"Discover peaceful Enders Island off of the coast of Mystic,"
''Cottages & Gardens''. Retrieved on August 14, 2017. The island located in the Fisher's Island Sound at the base of the Mystic River and is connected to neighboring

Mason's Island Mason's Island (Algonquin: ''Chippachaug - meaning: a separated place'') is an inhabited island at the mouth of the Mystic River, in Stonington, Connecticut. The island was named after Major John Mason who was granted the island in recognition ...

by a causeway. Mason's Island is connected to the mainland by another causeway.Enders Island
official site. Retrieved on August 17, 2017. Its sole inhabitants operate a retreat center and art school owned by the Catholic Society of Saint Edmund. Enders Island is also home to the bi-annual residency portion of Fairfield University's

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

in Creative Writing Program.M.F.A. in Creative Writing
Residency Overview.
Fairfield University. Retrieved on August 17, 2017. The Island is available to the public, with a chapel, surrounding views of the Atlantic, walking paths with flower gardens and a gift store.

History

Dr. Thomas B. Enders, the son of the president of

Aetna Insurance Company Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...

, purchased the island from the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...

and in 1918 he and his wife Alys VanGilder Enders designed and oversaw the construction of a private estate with a grand main house decorated in

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

style. The grounds still feature the Enders' imported Italian tiles in the house and garden, and a surrounding wall of large boulders that serves as a windbreak. Before her death in 1954, Alys willed the island to the

Society of Saint Edmund The Society of Saint Edmund ( la, Societas Patrum S. Edmundi) abbreviated SSE, also known as the Edmundites is a clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men in the Catholic Church founded in 1843, in Pontigny, France, by Rev. Jea ...

, requesting that it be used as a retreat and place of spiritual training for priests in the diocese. An independent ministry was established on the island in 2003.

Programs

The St. Edmund's Center residential addiction and recovery program began in the 1960s and is based on the 12-step recovery program with an emphasis on prayer and meditation. Its spiritual ministry hosts private and guided retreats for individuals, couples and groups. The Sacred Art Institute at Enders Island was founded in the 1995 and offers classes and workshops to the public. With a focus on religious art formats and techniques, classes include iconography, stained glass, mosaics, calligraphy, wood-carving and manuscript illumination. The Institute also offers workshops in Gregorian chants with live recordings performed in the onsite Chapel of Our Lady of the Assumption.

Nearby islands

* Ram Island * Elihu Island *

Fishers Island, New York Fishers Island (Pequot: ''Munnawtawkit'') is an island that is part of Southold, New York, United States at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound. About long and wide, it ...

References

External links

Enders Island
{{authority control Mystic, Connecticut Stonington, Connecticut Landforms of New London County, Connecticut Coastal islands of Connecticut Private islands of Connecticut Fairfield University Long Island Sound