Archbishop Leonard P. Blair Once again this year, at Pope Francis’ direc-tion, the third Sunday of January has been designated “Word of God Sunday.” Most Christians, including Catholics, will immediately think of the Bible. However, the reality goes much deeper, and a fuller understanding of the “Word of God” is essential for [...]

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair In this season between All Souls Day in November and Christmas in December I’m prompted to write about something that relates to both. My immediate concern has to do with burial practices, but what is really at stake is our understanding of the human person created body and [...]

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair Some weeks ago a piece in the Wall Street Journal told the story of two ordinary men who were life-long friends. The fact that a story like this should even get such attention in a prominent national newspaper is a commentary on our times. These days four in [...]

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair Recently in these pages I wrote to you about the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation in our Cathedral of St. Joseph. It is a church that belongs to all of us as members of the family of Catholic Faith in our archdiocese. More than ever we need [...]

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair At Easter we proclaim that Jesus Christ — in his human body, and not as a ghost, phantom or spirit — is risen and alive. All salvation, every redemptive grace, now comes into the world through his glorified body. He is crucified “in the flesh” and risen “in [...]

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair In the Fall of 2021 the Sacrament of Confirmation began to be celebrated seasonally on Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford rather than in the parishes. This has made it possible for me and Bishop Betancourt, as Bishops, to confer the [...]

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair June 10/11 is the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, “the Body (and Blood) of Christ,” which He Himself gives us in the Eucharist at every Mass. This year’s observance has special significance because it marks the beginning, at the parish level, of what the U.S. Bishops hope will be [...]

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair Pope Francis has been quoted as saying that today we live, not just in “a changing world,” but rather in a “world of change.” Nowhere is this more evident than in the turmoil we see around us regarding the very identity of the human person created male and female, reflecting [...]

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair This edition of the Transcript is devoted in great part to the re-cent archdiocesan pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and I would like to share with you some reflections on what it means to be a pilgrim, on what it means to be on a pilgrimage. This is [...]

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair One of the signs of human maturity is an honest acknowledgement of how little we really know, of how much we have yet to learn in life. This is especially evident when we encounter people or situations that inspire or challenge us.Imagine for a moment the spiritual growth of the [...]