On fourth outing, “Cover Thy Neighbor,” the ethereal, old-soul rock group’s missive goes beyond engaging the masses. Saint Bernadette is also intent on embracing the local artistic community: to plug and plug-in as many brethren as it can muster.

Led by producer and guitarist Keith Saunders and femme fatale vocalist Meredith DiMenna, with mainstay slide guitarist Joe Novelli, bass player Brian Anderson and drummer Dave Valle, the quintet offers a boozy, erotically charged aural accord that meshes a disparate template of psychedelic-meets-arena rock, with a peppering of jazz, all candy-coated with sing-along choruses.

And the group is putting it's money where it's mic is. “Cover Thy Neighbor” is a collection of covers, all written and originally performed by such local acts as The Zambonis, Shangk, Jar-e, Unicorn Wild Ox, Diplodocus and Jargon Society. It will launch Dec. 13 on the pair’s own label, Exotic Records, with a limited release in-town, followed by digital distribution in January.

“We realized the importance of our peers as both conduit and catalyst,” Saunders explains. “There is a rich base of composers and performers here, and these songs needed an opportunity to be recognized beyond their initial reception.” DiMenna adds, “We felt like there were so many published works right here that made me say, ‘God, I would die to sing that song.’ ”

All of this ties neatly into the group’s namesake, based on the very real Saint Bernadette, who reported repeated visions of holy apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1858 in her native village of Lourdes, France. The Catholic Church wasn’t buying it—until further investigation following her death. Suddenly, Bernadette was deemed Our Lady of Lourdes, named a saint in 1933 and ever since, millions have made an annual pilgrimage to pay homage to her shrine there.

DiMenna notes, “People thought she was crazy, but she ultimately transformed Lourdes onto the world stage. We took on Bridgeport as our pilgrimage. We saw a vision and many thought we were out of our minds. We want to be the engine that puts this place on the map. There may not be a Virgin Mary, but we’re saying, look at all this talent. Everything we do plays into that.”

Albums:

In the Ballroom	I Wanna Tell You Something
Word to the Lourdes	Cover Thy Neighbor