HARTFORD, Conn. — Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Hartford Archbishop Leonard Blair, with his successor formally assuming office Wednesday, according to the Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford.
With an approval from the Pope, Blair was succeeded by the Most Rev. Christopher J. Coyne, who becomes the archdiocese's sixth archbishop and the 14th bishop of Hartford.
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Blair's resignation at 75 years old marked over 10 years as the archdiocese's fifth archbishop. He was named to the position on Oct. 29, 2013, and installed in the Cathedral of Saint Joseph on Dec. 16, 2013, according to the archdiocese.
Coyne, who had served as Bishop of Burlington, Vt. since 2015, was appointed by Francis in 2023 as a coadjutor archbishop to automatically succeed Blair when he retired. As a metropolitan archbishop, the archdiocese said that he "oversees the Ecclesiastical Province of Hartford," comprising of all of Connecticut and Rhode Island, including the Dioceses of Bridgeport, Norwich and Providence.
"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," Coyne said in a statement on the archdiocese's website.
A friend of Blair's for over 11 years, Coyne also wrote a message directly to the former archbishop.
"I, along with all of you, thank Archbishop Blair for his apostolic ministry to the Church, especially here in the Archdiocese of Hartford. May he have a long and healthy retirement as he is now counted with Archbishops Cronin and Mansell as an “Archbishop emeritus.” Ad multos annos!" Coyne said on the archdiocese website.
According to the Archidocese of Hartford, they serve about 469,000 Catholics in 115 parishes and 36 schools across Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven counties.
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