Religion
Leonard Paul Blair
born 1949 · Catholic Archbishop of Hartford (2013–2024)
Detroit-born priest who served as an auxiliary bishop of Detroit, then as Bishop of Toledo and Archbishop of Hartford.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 77- Detroit years
- 1949–2003
- Field
- Religion
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Leonard Paul Blair was born in Detroit in 1949 and studied history at Sacred Heart Major Seminary before continuing his training in Rome. Cardinal John Dearden ordained him for the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1976, and he served in parishes across the metro area, including St. Martin de Porres in Warren, Our Lady Queen of Peace in Harper Woods, St. Christopher in Detroit and St. Paul in Grosse Pointe Farms, before holding the posts of chancellor and vicar general. From 1994 to 1997 he worked in Rome as personal secretary to Cardinal Edmund Szoka, Detroit's former archbishop, then a senior Vatican official. In 1999 Pope John Paul II named him an auxiliary bishop of Detroit, and he was consecrated at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament by Cardinal Adam Maida. He became Bishop of Toledo in 2003, where the Vatican later assigned him to lead a much-debated doctrinal assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and he served as Archbishop of Hartford from 2013 until 2024.
Highlights
- Auxiliary bishop of Detroit, 1999–2003
- Bishop of Toledo, 2003–2013
- Archbishop of Hartford, 2013–2024
- Led the Vatican's 2008–2010 doctrinal assessment of the LCWR
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Related place · 1999
Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Detroit's cathedral, where he was consecrated a bishop on August 24, 1999.
Studied here · 1960s–1970s
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Detroit's seminary, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history.