In this month’s The Appeal at Work, we have the pleasure of hearing from two people connected with the Cathedral Food Pantry — a remarkable ministry at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Hartford, whose mission is to provide food, clothing, housewares, and comfort to the disadvantaged with great compassion and dignity. Dumonica not only works part-time at the pantry, but also relies on it to provide food and clothing for her household, while Paul has been an actively-engaged volunteer at the pantry for seven years. The Cathedral Food Pantry is one of the many organizations that receives funding from the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal, made possible through your generosity. Please consider making a donation at the following link: https://appeal.archdioceseofhartford.org.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

When we attend Mass and celebrate the Eucharist we hear the priest say, Do This in Memory of Me. These words were first spoken at the Last Supper by Jesus the night before he suffered and died on the cross, offering the ultimate sacrifice. In the Eucharist Jesus gives us the gift of Himself – body and blood, soul and divinity – so that with St. Paul we too can say “yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” We are called to imitate what we celebrate. As Christ has done, so must we do.

Do This in Memory of Me is therefore a fitting theme of the 2024

Archbishop’s Annual Appeal. Our “gift of self” in imitation of Christ means that we are following His command to love our neighbor and to make our own sacrifices for those in spiritual and material need.

The 2024 Archbishop’s Annual Appeal presents a unique opportunity to combine all of our individual sacrificial gifts in order to accomplish even more together as one family of faith.

I invite you to share generously the time, talent, and treasure that God has bestowed on you, so that together we can enrich, nurture, and foster the spiritual and material well-being of individuals, families, and communities throughout Hartford, New Haven, and Litchfield Counties.

Please review this brochure which illustrates some of the many ways that Do This in Memory of Me inspires the life and outreach of the Church in our local parishes and communities.

God bless you.

The Most Reverend Leonard P. Blair
Archbishop of Hartford

Thank you for considering a contribution to the

2024 Archbishop’s Annual Appeal.

Donate

Your support will assist the Archdiocese of Hartford to continue its mission of service.

See the 2024 AAA Brochure

Print Brochure
Print Poster

2024 Archbishop’s Annual Appeal Progress

Amount Pledged = $4,554,093.81
Gifts = 14,487
% of $10M Goal = 45.54%
As of March 22, 2024

of $10M Goal

Vicariate Progress Reports

Northern Vicariate   Southern Vicariate   Western Vicariate

Vicariate Outreach Reports

(pdf opens in new browser window)

Archbishop’s Annual Appeal – Tuition Grant Essay Contest 

Incoming Freshman & Rising Sophomores, Juniors & Seniors to a Catholic high school within the Archdiocese of Hartford for the 2024-2025 School Year

View pdf for 9th & 10th graders
View pff for 11th & 12th graders

Every year, the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal combines the donations of thousands across the Archdiocese in order to answer the Gospel call of Christ to serve others. In an effort to share the good news about the Appeal’s impact within our Archdiocese and to promote the involvement of our youth in the life of the Church, Archbishop Leonard P. Blair and the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal Pastors’ Advisory Committee invite students who will be Junior or Senior in the 2024-2025 school year and will be attending a Catholic high school within the Archdiocese of Hartford to participate in the 2024 AAA Tuition Grant Essay Contest. 

Essay Contest Guidelines:

Objectives: Essays will be judged based on how the following questions are addressed by the contestant:

1. Why is it important for me and for all Catholics across the Archdiocese to support the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal?

2. What does “stewardship” mean to me, and how do I practice it in my life?

3. How are people in my community and throughout the Archdiocese impacted by the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal?

1. The Essay should be typed, double spaced, and no more than 500 words in length.

2.The Essay must include a title page that contains the following information: title of essay, name of school, student’s name, current grade, home address, phone number, email address, and parish name.

3.The Essay must be submitted to the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal Office located at 467 Bloomfield Avenue, Bloomfield, CT 06002, Attention – Essay Contest Committee. Submissions may be made beginning January 1, 2024. Essay submissions must be postmarked no later than April 30, 2024.

4. A committee will review and judge the essays submitted. The winner will be notified by August 1, 2024 and Tuition Grants will be sent directly to the Catholic high schools he/she is attending.

5. To be eligible, essays MUST meet all of the above stated requirements.

6. The author of the top essay will receive a Tuition Grant in the amount of $1,000 towards his/her following year’s high school tuition at a Catholic high school within the Archdiocese of Hartford.

7. The winner & his/her essay may appear in future Archbishop’s Annual Appeal literature.

8. Immediate family members of Archdiocesan employees are not eligible to participate.

9. If a winning student/contestant does not matriculate at a Catholic high school within the Archdiocese for his/her following school year, he/she will automatically forfeit the tuition grant.

1. The Web Site for the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal https://archdioceseofhartford.org/appeal/ Ministries and various Vicariate Outreach Programs supported by the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal often have their own independent websites.

2. The Archbishop’s Annual Appeal Office will be happy to talk with those students writing essays. Tina Poet, Director of the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal, can be reached at 1-800-781-2550 or Reverend Jeffrey Romans, PAC Chairman, can be reached at Saint Bridget of Sweden Parish in Cheshire at 203-272-3531.

3. Contact your local priest, pastor, or church office to see how the Appeal may be helping locally.

4. Local newspapers sometimes have wonderful articles about the good works of the Appeal. Many times they refer to the Vicariate Outreach Program and the organizations that have received funding.

2024 Archbishop’s
Annual Appeal Prayer

Heavenly Father,
source of all love and mercy,
Your gifts to us are beyond counting.
Your love for us cannot be measured.
Grant that our efforts
to carry out the mission of the Church,
and to make a difference in the lives
of our brother and sisters in need,
may unite us more closely as
one family of faith.
May the 2024 Archbishop’s Annual Appeal,
Do This in Memory of Me,
inspire us to live the gift of the
Eucharist we receive,
and to share all that we are,
and all that we have,
in imitation of Christ your beloved Son.
May what we offer be a true act of faith
and a sign of our love for
You and for our neighbor.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.