21st Annual St. Edmund's Medal of Honor Mass and Dinner

4:00 pm: Mass in Our Lady of the Assumption Chapel

Enders Island, Mystic, CT

5:30 pm: Reception, followed by dinner

Lake Of Isles, North Stonington, CT

The St. Edmund's Medal of Honor celebrates lives filled with grace and virtue, reflecting the legacy of St. Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury and Patron Saint of St. Edmund's Retreat. The medal is presented to men and women who, like St. Edmund, see talents and expertise as God-given gifts. They are ordinary people doing extraordinary service for the church and community. We invite you to honor and recognize our 2025 honorees with your attendance and sponsorship of this wonderful evening of celebration.

Dr. Cynthia Hunt, MD & Stephen Hunt

Dr. Cynthia and Stephen Hunt are being recognized for this prestigious honor for their piety, leadership, and advocacy for those in need. 

Dr. Cynthia Hunt is a renowned physician who has contributed to the Catholic, medical, and psychological worlds. With her work experience in many areas, Dr. Hunt has dedicated her life to helping and spreading awareness of psychological issues. Much like St. Edmund, who was a lifelong advisor, Dr. Hunt serves as a psychiatric consultant to Priests, Exorcists, and Bishops. 

With the help of her husband, Stephen Hunt, the couple co-founded JMJ Maternity Homes, a non-profit apostolate organization dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment for unwed mothers during pregnancy and early motherhood.  Over the years, they have assisted over 400 women and their children. 

Stephen Hunt continues to be highly involved in the organization as President and Volunteer Interim Director. As an active member of the community he helped found, he is a key factor in the many lives JMJ has touched.

Dr. Jeremiah Lowney, DDS, MS, MPH & Virginia Lowney, RN

Dr. Jeremiah Lowney, DDS, MS, MPH, first became aware of Haiti's conditions in 1982, after providing dental care in Port-au-Prince with Mother Teresa's Sisters of Charity. For three years, he would travel quarterly to work with the Sisters. In 1985, Mother Teresa asked if he would travel to Jeremie to provide healthcare. He accepted and founded the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF), which today provides care for over 250,000 people in Jeremie and 104 rural villages. He continued serving with quarterly trips to Jeremie for over 34 years.

Virginia Lowney, RN, joined her husband on his trips to Haiti, sharing her nursing skills with impoverished people. Seeing Haitian families in need, she established the HHF's Save a Family program in 1987. Save a Family matches sponsors globally with families in Haiti to help provide food, shelter, medical care, and school support for children, currently over 5,000 children a year.

Dr. Jeremiah and Virginia Lowney are being recognized with this prestigious honor for their generosity and charity. Their organization has expanded from dental care to healthcare, mental health, pre-natal and post-natal care, school support, house and bathroom construction, animal and plant distribution, and emergency response. Jeremiah and Virginia have raised millions of dollars for families in Haiti. 

   Father Jim Mattaliano, S.J.

Much like St. Edmund, Father Jim Mattaliano has shown a deep devotion to God. After entering the Society of Jesus, Father Mattaliano joined the retreat team at Campion Center in Weston, MA, due to his long interest in pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, sacramental ministry, and retreat work. There he served for ten years, leading retreats all across the United States and Canada, and led pilgrimages worldwide. 

Father Mattaliano currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors of Pope Leo XIII Institute. Rooted in the love of the Father who defines the identity of each person, the Pope Leo XIII Institute supports the spiritual formation of priests, preparing their minds and hearts to bring the light of Christ to dispel evil and to heal the wounded and afflicted. The Institute strives to advance pastoral healing ministry within the Kingdom of God. Father Mattaliano is being recognized for this prestigious honor for years of piety and service to the church and his community. 

          Anthony Visco

As the founder and director of the Atelier for the Sacred Arts, Anthony Visco offers his experience in designing and fabricating liturgical art through classes and workshops. He has taught seminars in classical figure composition, sculpture, mural painting, and reliefs in the United States and Italy. 

Anthony Visco is being recognized for this prestigious honor for his lifelong dedication to devotional Catholic art and his humility in sharing it with others. As a Catholic artist, he sees his gift as something that could only come from God. His personal mission is to "learn and teach others who have the same calling." Demonstrating his piety, Visco has a community of Catholic artists, including seminarians and priests, that come together regularly for art sessions. They work, pray, and break bread together on a regular basis. Visco's work is currently on display at the Embassy of the United States to the Holy See in Rome, Italy.