By Joe Pisani

Bridgeport, June 7, 2026—Four years ago when Bishop Frank J. Caggiano visited the vacant rectory of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Bridgeport, it was so dilapidated and neglected, he didn’t go inside.

“I remember going to that rectory, and I got as far as the front door and backed off,” he recalled. “They told me: ‘Bishop, the only solution is to tear it down.’”

Click Here to See Photos of Bishop Cagginao’s Visit to Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, June 7, 2026

But then, something happened. “God had another solution,” he said.

The Catholic community Koinonia John the Baptist came to the diocese and took over Our Lady of Good Counsel, which needed extensive repairs. Father Adriano Biccheri, the pastor, said people began to come forward to offer their services, financial support, materials and whatever was needed to bring the property back to life.

On Corpus Christi Sunday, Bishop Caggiano returned to the rectory and stood at the front door again. This time, after blessing the resurrected building, he went in.

It was “a miracle,” he said in his comments at the ceremony.

“That building now beautifully named Bethlehem, the House of Bread and Peace, is going to be the home of our consecrated sisters and brothers, where they will be nurtured and grow in love and faith to be the seed of this miracle that’s unfolding,” he told the faithful who filled the church. “It is going to be their home. But I would like all of us to remember, if home is where the heart is, this building is the home of Jesus.”

The bishop said they were there to celebrate three miracles: the resurrected rectory, but most importantly the Body and Blood of Jesus — the miracle of the Eucharist.

“Imagine, my friends, the Lord gives us bread from heaven every day we’re willing to receive it,” he said. “In that one act on the cross, the Lord Jesus chose to die for you and me, and for all who would believe in him. he suffered and died and rose from the dead, so the victory of Christ may be your victory and mine. And every time we come to this altar, we are receiving the fruits of his victory. We are receiving not a sign, not a symbol, not a reminder—we’re receiving Jesus himself.”

The second miracle is Koinonia, modeled after their patron St. John the Baptist, the voice crying in the wilderness.

“The Koinonia came to us as a great gift to go where others maybe would not go,” he said. “To come here, to be the instruments of God’s love and mercy and of his healing, so that this place could literally come back to life. And you, my friends, are the beginning, not the end — the beginning of that new life.”

The bishop urged them: “Live the moment right now in this sacred place and feel the peace and joy…and in your heart recognize the power of God and what God can do.”

In an interview, Father Biccheri talked about Koinonia’s arrival in Bridgeport at the request of Bishop Caggiano.

“When we started the process, our resources were almost zero because the parish had no savings, and there were 25 people at the English Mass and seven at the Spanish,” he recalled. “Now, the Spanish has more than 300 and the English is more than 80 … and the rectory has been resurrected into a modern monastery for our consecrated community and offers Bridgeport an oasis of prayer.”

The community includes Father Biccheri, Michele Bertaja, Marie Tauchmanova, Emiliana Traversin, Katarina Barkociova, Aide Escamilla Roman, Alexandra Dulova, Pablo Espinal Varela and Brother Riccardo Varagnolo, who will be ordained to the priesthood at Our Lady of Good Counsel Chapel on August 15.

The new building, Father Biccheri said, is a testament to the parish volunteers, benefactors and businesses that only charged for the cost of materials. Koinonia also received a grant from Foundations in Faith.

He expressed special gratitude to architect Tucker Chase; the director of the work, Ralph DeMasi and his wife Mary Ann, and John Bria of Residential Waste Systems.

The renovated building was named “Bethlehem,” which means “House of Bread” because Koinonia offers spiritual nourishment to people who come to the campus, which is a center for evangelization, he said.

“In this moment, it is so important for our culture to see consecrated people giving their lives completely to the Lord,” Father Biccheri said. “The rectory will also provide communal space for families and young people.”

The group purchased the property at 163 Ortega Avenue from the diocese and is now moving forward with plans to restore the church.

“We see ourselves as an oasis that is springing up, bringing life and something new,” said Sister Maire Close, an original member of the community who is now assigned in Brooklyn and returned to Bridgeport for the blessing. “This will be a fertile piece of land in the middle of the desert, feeding the weary traveler. We want to give people a new experience of Jesus and what it means to have him in your life.”

Parishioner Armida Oradei said: “I have been attending Our Lady of Good Counsel for several years, and it’s just beautiful to see the enthusiasm of the parishioners, their support, and the growing attendance. The opening of the Bethlehem house will allow the consecrated and the pastor to dedicate their time to activities in the parish. This restoration could not have been achieved without all the parishioners’ help and is a testimony of God’s blessings for this entire devoted community.”

The Foundation Koinonia John the Baptist has thousands of members worldwide, including families, consecrated brothers and sisters, and priests. Individual Koinonias are centers of evangelization and spiritual life, and members get together regularly to grow in their faith and train the faithful to evangelize.

Koinonia began in 1979 after Father Ricardo Arganaraz had a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit. The priest from Argentina was on the track to become a papal nuncio but left the Vatican because he realized the Lord was calling him to something different. As a result, he withdrew to a secluded mountain area in Italy with three others to pursue a life of prayer, work and study.

Koinonia is a Greek word that means “fellowship, sharing in common and communion,” and its mission is to promote the New Evangelization through activities, training programs and the formation of a community.