Mystic, Connecticut: St. Edmund's Severed Arm

The severed arm of St. Edmund Rich, a 13th century archbishop of Canterbury, is on display in a glass case in a tiny outdoor chapel on Ender's Island.

What an incredible place! The grounds of the St. Edmunds retreat area are amazing. I wish we had planned to attend a service. The gardens are lovely and the views of the ocean are breathtaking.

While on Enders Island, after you visit St. Edmunds severed arm, you must walk about 40 feet down to the shoreline and experience the Seaside Chapel, where waves slap against the rocks that lead directly into the open air worship area. There is an altar where many have left tokens of remembrance and prayers.

You should have no problem getting in the Chapel. The severed arm is in to the left.

On Ender's Island, off the coast of Mystic (accessible by car), there's a religious retreat run by a Catholic order known as the Brothers of St. Edmund, founded in France in the 19th century The order takes responsibility for the relics of St. Edmund Rich, a 13th century archbishop of Canterbury whose body has been a pilgrimage site in France for centuries. When the Edmundites came to the U.S. in the 1950s, they brought a relic of St. Edmund with them: his severed arm. The arm is on display in the chapel on Enders Island, kept under a glass case along with smaller bone fragment relics.

It's free and open to the public, but keep in mind that you're in a place of religious worship and quiet contemplation.