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 Willam Tyler as its first bishop. At the time of its creation, there were 10,000 Catholics in the area. 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, 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, 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, Francis Patrick McFarland, known as the "Civil War Bishop." Despite ill health, McFarland was able to participate in the First Vatican Council (1869-1870).[4] As a result of his increasingly poor health, Bishop McFarland requested that his diocese be divided to lessen his burden. In 1872, the Diocese of Providence comprising the state of Rhode Island and four counties in Southeastern Massachusetts was established. Bishop McFarland returned the See of Hartford to its original home city, and his territory was reduced to the state of Connecticut and Fisher's Island, NY.

Thomas Galberry, 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 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, Michael Tierney, helped with the creation of 5 diocesan hospitals.[4]

John Joseph Nilan became the seventh bishop while 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 in 1953, and thus O'Brien became the first archbishop of Hartford. At this time, the suffragan dioceses of Norwich in the eastern and Bridgeport in the southwestern portions of the state were formed.

On October 31st, 2020, Michael J. McGivney, who founded the Knights of Columbus within the then Diocese of Hartford in 1882 was beatified at a mass celebrated in the Cathedral of St. Joseph. A concurrent ceremony was held at St. Mary's Church in New Haven, CT, where McGivney was assigned as an associate pastor.[5]

In March 2023, in St. Thomas Church in Thomastone, an alleged eucharistic miracle was reported when a eucharistic minister was alleged to be running out hosts during Communion. It was said that the hosts had miraculously self-multiplied. The claim was forwarded to Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the decision is yet to be reached.[6]

There have been a number of trials concerning child abuse. In February 2005, former Archdiocese of Hartford priest Roman Kramek was deported back to his native country of Poland after serving nine months in prison for sexually assaulting a teenage girl who had sought his spiritual counseling in 2002.[7] In August 2013, Michael Joseph Miller, who previously served at St Paul's church in New Britain, plead guilty to possession of child pornography, publishing an obscenity, and three counts of risk of injury to a minor.[8][9] He was then sentenced to 5-20 years in prison.[8][9]

On January 22, 2019, the Archdiocese of Hartford released a list of 48 clergy who were "credibly accused" of committing acts of sex while serving in the archdiocese.[10] The archdiocese also revealed that $50.6 million was paid to settle more than 140 claims of sexual abuse.[10] 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 teacher Glenn Goncalo when he taught at Hopkins between at least 1990 and 1991.[11] Goncalo committed suicide in 1991 as arraignments were being made for him to surrender to the police.[10]

1. William Tyler (1843–1849)
2. Bernard O'Reilly (1849–1856)
3. Francis Patrick McFarland (1858–1875)
4. Thomas Galberry (1877–1879)
5. Lawrence S. McMahon (1879–1893)
6. Michael Tierney (1894–1908)
7. John J. Nilan (1910–1934)
8. Maurice F. McAuliffe (1934–1944)
9. Henry J. O'Brien (1945–1953), elevated to Archbishop

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

• Juan Miguel Betancourt (2018–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),[12] 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)

• 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 Maine 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 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich in 1959
• Peter Leo Gerety, appointed Coadjutor of Portland in 1966 and subsequently succeeded to that see, and later Archbishop of Newark

Despite disagreement with the majority of genealogists, this particular archdiocese holds firm in their belief that none of their records will be made public for genealogical research. This is a particular hindrance to those wishing to study records of Acadians who were deported to this area in the 1700's, as well as tracing French Canadian families who worked in industrial mills, as they frequently moved throughout various portions of New England and New York. According to the official policy of the Archdiocese, "Sacramental Records are he property of the Church and are not public records in the sense that they are not open to immediate examination and inspection by anyone for whatever reason." They further state, in regards to the only written requests, the only way to request of genealogical records, "Fulfillment of requests is a courtesy, if and when time permits. Restrictions and additional fees may apply. Results are not guaranteed."

This is in contrast to the policy of a nearby Archdiocese, the Archdiocese of Boston, who has partnered with American Ancestors to make their records publicly accessible