The Vatican has announced the person who will be the next Archbishop of Hartford.
The Vatican announced on Monday that the Most Reverend Christopher J. Coyne, who has served as Bishop of Burlington, Vermont, since January 2015, will succeed Archbishop Leonard P. Blair when Blair retires in 2024.
Archbishop Blair has served in his role since December 2013 and will retire at the age of 75 in keeping with church law, according to a statement from Archdiocese of Hartford.
Pope Francis has appointed Coyne to be the Coadjutor Archbishop for the Archdiocese of Hartford.
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A coadjutor is a bishop appointed to a Catholic diocese or archdiocese to assist the diocesan bishop and "automatically becomes the new bishop when the diocesan bishop retires, resigns or dies," the statement from the archdiocese says.
This appointment impacts a half million Catholics in Hartford, New Haven and Litchfield counties.
A Mass of Welcome will be held at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph, Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Hartford, on Monday Oct. 9 at 2 p.m.
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The Archdiocese is expected to discuss Coadjutor Archbishop Coyne's appointment during a news conference at the Archdiocese of Hartford Pastoral Center in Bloomfield at 10 a.m. on Monday.
