Leonard Paul Blair
| The Most Reverend Leonard Paul Blair |
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|---|---|
| Archbishop of Hartford | |
| See | Hartford |
| Appointed | October 29, 2013 |
| Installed | December 16, 2013 |
| Predecessor | Henry J. Mansell |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 26, 1976 by John Francis Dearden |
| Consecration | August 24, 1999 by Adam Maida, Edmund Szoka, and Dale Joseph Melczek |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Leonard Paul Blair |
| Born | April 12, 1949 Detroit, Michigan |
| Nationality |  American |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post |
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| Motto | PASCE OVES MEAS (FEED MY SHEEP) |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Styles of Leonard Paul Blair |
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|---|---|
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| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Archbishop |
Leonard Paul Blair (born April 12, 1949) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church serving as the thirteenth bishop and fifth and current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut. He was installed as the Archbishop of Hartford on December 16, 2013.
Biography
Leonard Blair was born in Detroit, Michigan, and there studied at Sacred Heart Seminary, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in History. He then furthered his studies in Rome, where he earned a baccalaureate and licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, and a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum).[1]
Blair was ordained to the priesthood on June 26, 1976, and then served as vicar general and chancellor of the Archdiocese of Detroit. He taught theology at Sacred Heart Seminary, where he was dean of studies as well. Blair was personal secretary to Edmund Cardinal Szoka and an official of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See from 1994 to 1997, whence he was named pastor of St. Paul Church in Grosse Point Farms.
On July 8, 1999, Blair was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit and Titular Bishop of Voncariana. He received his episcopal consecration on the following August 24 from Adam Cardinal Maida, with Cardinal Szoka and Bishop Dale Melczek serving as co-consecrators. Blair was later named Bishop of Toledo, Ohio, on October 7, 2003. He was installed as the fifth Archbishop of Hartford on December 16, 2013.
In 2009, he delivered the findings of an initial doctrinal assessment report to the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), which had been requested and begun in 2008; he issued a subsequent letter in 2010. In April 2012, the CDF issued a formal document ordering an up to five-year-long visitation of the Conference, to be chaired by Seattle's Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, with Bishop Blair and the Bishop of Springfield, Illinois, Thomas J. Paprocki, as members.[2]
In July 2011, Blair advised parishes and Catholic schools in the Diocese of Toledo against raising funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, citing concerns that funds contributed to the global anti-cancer foundation may go towards funding embryonic stem-cell research. Blair stated, "As best we can determine, at present the Komen Foundation does not fund cancer research that employs embryonic stem cells. However, their policy does not exclude that possibility. They are open to embryonic stem cell research, and may very well fund such research in the future." [3] Bishop Blair's statement also made reference to Komen's relationship with Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortions in the United States of America. Because of these factors, Bishop Blair, in conjunction with the Catholic bishops of Ohio, urged Catholic faithful, both corporate and individually, to consider alternate organizations when supporting anti-breast cancer research.
Footnotes
External links
- Catholic-Hierarchy
- Diocese of Toledo
- [2]
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo
Episcopal succession
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Archbishop of Hartford 2013-Present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Toledo 2003-2013 |
Succeeded by Daniel Edward Thomas |
- Articles with Italian-language external links
- Pages using S-rel template with ca parameter
- 1949 births
- Living people
- American Roman Catholic archbishops
- 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops
- People from Detroit, Michigan
- Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas alumni
- American people of Polish descent
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit
- Roman Catholic bishops of Toledo
- Roman Catholic bishops of Hartford
- Religious leaders from Michigan
