Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford

In 1780-1781, the small town of Lebanon, Connecticut, had the distinction of being the place in which the Catholic "Mass was first celebrated, continuously and for a long period, within the limits of the State of Connecticut."[2] On June 26, 1881, St. Peter's parish, Hartford, celebrated "the centenary of the first Mass in Connecticut." [3]

The present territory of the archdiocese of Hartford was originally part of the Diocese of Boston until Bishop Benedict Joseph Fenwick of Boston expressed concern that there should be separate dioceses for Connecticut and Rhode Island in keeping with the growing Catholic population in those states.

On November 28, 1843, the Diocese of Hartford was established by Pope Gregory XVI with the Reverend Willam Tyler as its first bishop. At the time of its creation, there were 10,000 Catholics in the area. Bishop Tyler was able to petition successfully to move the See of Hartford to Providence, Rhode Island, in order to be nearer to the majority of the Catholics. He attended the Seventh Provincial Council of Baltimore which convened 5 May 1849, but weakened by consumption died the following month, having served for 5 years.[4]

The second bishop, Reverend Bernard O'Reilly, spent his time securing priests for the still young diocese all the while helping to curb the anti-Catholic movements of the time propagated by the Know Nothing Party. To provide for the education of the young, Bishop O'Reilly brought to his diocese the Sisters of Mercy, establishing them in his episcopal city in 1851. In January 1856, O'Reilly was lost at sea on board the steamer Pacific. It wasn't until two years later that the third bishop of the diocese was installed, the Reverend Francis Patrick McFarland, known as the "Civil War Bishop." It was during his time that the Diocese of Providence was created in 1872. Despite ill health, McFarland was able to participate in the First Vatican Council (1869-1870).[4]

The Reverend Thomas Galberry, O.S.A., an Augustinian friar, and former president of Villanova College, was installed as the 4th bishop of Hartford in 1877. Galberry only served for two years before an abrupt death but he was able to lay down the cornerstone of the original cathedral. Galberry was followed by Reverend Lawrence S. McMahon. McMahon had served as chaplain with the 28th Massachusetts. Under his leadership of 14 years, 48 parishes as well as 16 school parishes were established. The sixth bishop, Father Michael Tierney, helped with the creation of 5 diocesan hospitals.[4]

Father John Joseph Nilan became the seventh bishop while Father John Murray became the first auxiliary bishop of Hartford. Murray would later become the Archbishop of St. Paul. In 1945, Henry Joseph O'Brien was installed as the ninth bishop of Hartford. During his tenure the diocese became an archdiocese under Pope Pius XII, and thus O'Brien became the first archbishop of Hartford.

There have been a number of trials concerning child abuse. On January 22, 2019, the Archdiocese of Hartford released a list of 48 clergy who "credibly accused" of committing acts of sex while serving in the Archdiocese.[5] The Archdiocese also revealed that $50.6 million was paid to settle more than 140 claims of sexual abuse.[5] In March 2020, a joint settlement of $7.48 million was issued by both the Archdiocese of Hartford and Hopkins School in New Haven for shielding acts of abuse committed by Archdiocese of Hartford priest Glenn Goncalo when he taught at Hopkins between at least 1990 and 1991.[6]

1. William Tyler (1843–1849)
2. Bernard O'Reilly (1849–1856)
3. Francis Patrick McFarland (1858–1875)
4. Thomas Galberry, O.S.A. (1877–1879)
5. Lawrence S. McMahon (1879–1894)
6. Michael Tierney (1894–1908)
7. John J. Nilan (1910–1934)
8. Maurice F. McAuliffe (1934–1944)

1. Henry J. O'Brien (1945–1969), elevated to Archbishop in 1953
2. John F. Whealon (1969–1991)
3. Daniel Anthony Cronin (1992–2003)
4. Henry J. Mansell (2003–2013)
5. Leonard P. Blair (2013–present)

• John Gregory Murray (1920-1925), appointed Bishop of Portland and later Archbishop of Saint Paul
• Maurice F. McAuliffe (1925-1934), appointed Bishop of Hartford
• Henry Joseph O'Brien (1940-1945), appointed Bishop and later Archbishop of Hartford
• John Francis Hackett (1953-1986)
• Joseph Francis Donnelly (1965-1977)
• Peter A. Rosazza (1978-2010)
• Paul S. Loverde (1988-1993), appointed Bishop of Ogdensburg and later Bishop of Arlington
• Christie Macaluso (1997-2017)
• Juan Miguel Betancourt (2018–present)

• Thomas Francis Hendricken, appointed Bishop of Providence in 1872
• Bonaventure Broderick, appointed auxiliary bishop of San Cristóbal de la Habana in Cuba in 1903
• Thomas Joseph Shahan, appointed Rector of The Catholic University of America, and in 1914 Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore
• Francis Joseph Tief, appointed Bishop of Concordia in 1920
• Joseph Edward McCarthy, appointed Bishop of Portland in 1932
• Francis Patrick Keough, appointed Bishop of Providence in 1934 and later Archbishop of Baltimore
• Matthew Francis Brady, appointed Bishop of Burlington in 1938 and later Bishop of Manchester
• Patrick Joseph McCormick, appointed Rector of The Catholic University of America twice and later, in 1950, Auxiliary Bishop of Washington
• Vincent Joseph Hines, appointed Bishop of Norwich in 1959
• Peter Leo Gerety, appointed Coadjutor Bishop (in 1966) and Bishop of Portland and later Archbishop of Newark