At 6 AM local time (noon in Rome) today, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Archbishop Leonard P. Blair upon reaching the retirement age of 75. At the same time, the Most Reverend Christopher J. Coyne immediately assumed office as sixth Archbishop and 14th Bishop of Hartford.
Archbishop Coyne will make a statement to the Church and wider community of Central Connecticut at a 10 AM press conference today at the Pastoral Center (467 Bloomfield Avenue, Bloomfield, CT). A Mass to mark the inauguration of his ministry will be held on Sunday, May 5th at 11 AM, as the Archbishop takes possession of the Cathedral of St. Joseph, the mother church of the Archdiocese.
Upon his succession as chief shepherd of the Archdiocese, Archbishop Coyne said, “After a year of listening and learning the joys and the hopes, the griefs and anxieties of God’s People here in Hartford, I am excited to set out with you on this new stage of our journey together as Church. As I ask the prayers of all people of good will that our work might bear abundant fruit, I pledge to you that I will strive everyday to be a faithful image of the Good Shepherd, who welcomes the lost and protects those who struggle. Today, Jesus calls us to be ‘a Church that goes out’ to the changing world around us, and I invite my new family of faith to join me in meeting this moment with a renewed energy for our mission to bring Christ’s light, peace, and hope to our families, our neighbors, and everyone in this place we call home.”
As Metropolitan Archbishop, Archbishop Coyne oversees the Ecclesiastical Province of Hartford, which comprises all of Connecticut and Rhode Island, encompassing the Dioceses of Bridgeport, Norwich, and Providence. On June 29, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, he will receive the Pallium, an ancient symbol of the Archbishop’s office, from Pope Francis at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Pallium will be conferred on Archbishop Coyne by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio (papal ambassador) to the United States, at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Hartford on Monday, October 14, 2024.
The Archdiocese of Hartford serves approximately 469,000 Catholics in 115 parishes and 36 schools across Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven Counties. Established as a diocese in 1843 by Pope Gregory XVI, the local church was elevated as an Archdiocese in 1941 by Pope Pius XII.
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: David Elliott Associate Director of Communications & Public Relations
(860) 541-6491 (office) / (203) 980-1277 (cell)
David.Elliott@aohct.org
