Deacon Jose Antonio Morales 
(June 13, 1929 - February 20, 2015)

Jose Antonio Morales, 85, arrived at the home of his heavenly Father on February, 20, 2015. Jose, son of Maria (Santana) and Ruperto Morales was born on June 13, 1929 in Comerio, Puerto Rico. He is predeceased in death by brothers Antonio Morales, Sr, Natividad Morales, Sr, sisters Maria Luisa Morales- Rivera and Jovita Morales, Jose is survived by his wife of 65 years Luz Maria Morales, sister Mariana Morales-Diaz, daughter Nancy Morales, sons Juan, William and Edgar Morales, grandchildren Robert, Leyna and Caroline Morales, great grandchildren Winslow and Charlotte Morales, and numerous nieces and nephews. After serving his country in the Korean War as a member of the US Army "Borinqueneer 65th Regiment", which recently was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, he moved to Hartford, CT in 1954 to pursue his education and life goals in service to community and church. He was employed by area employers Olivetti-Underwood, Colt Firearms, Greater Hartford Business Bureau and ultimately as a psychiatric social worker with St. Francis Hospital, while attaining his Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services in 1982. In addition to his giving and assistance to his fellow man, he was ordained as the first Hispanic deacon in the Roman Catholic Church in 1973 for the Archdiocese of Hartford and continued in his deaconate ministry in the Hartford, San Juan, Orlando and St Petersburg Dioceses until retirement in 2010. The immediate family will receive extended family and friends from 4:00PM to 8:00PM on Friday, February 27, 2015 at St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church,10 Campfield Ave., Hartford CT. Catholic Mass is scheduled for Saturday, February 28, 2015, at 10:00 AM at St Augustine's Church followed by burial with military honors at the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown CT. In lieu of flowers consider a donation to St Augustine Church for continued ministry in the Hartford community Jose loved. To share a memory with the family please visit www.dillonbaxter.com

El siguiente video fue mostrado en todas las Misas del fin de semana 28 de febrero - 1 de Marzo de 2015 marcando el comienzo de la Campana Anual del Arzobispo: "Viviendo La Alegria del Evangelio."  En los siguientes semanas y meses me escuchara hablar, junto con el Padre Diego Jimenez sobre las obras maravillosas que el pueblo de la Arquidiocesis de Hartford por esta Campana.

Dear Parishioners,

This weekend February 21-22, 2015, a letter from Archbishop Blair on Pastoral Planning was included as an insert in our bulletins.  Since this is the first of a series of updates on Pastoral Planning in the Archdiocese of Hartford I have added a Pastoral Planning blog to keep you up to date.  You can visit the blog by clicking here.

Also next weekend February 28 - March 1, 2015, will be the kick off to the Archbishop's Annual Appeal: "Living the Joy of the Gospel."  As in years past, at all the Masses a video will be shown highlighting the good works that have been done and are continuing to be done by the people of the Archdiocese of Hartford through the Appeal.  

Yours in Christ,
Father Jose A. Mercado

Message from the Office of Family Life of the Archdiocese of Hartford:

At the conclusion of the October 2014 Synod of Bishops on the topic, The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization, Pope Francis made public the Relatio Synodi, which summarized and concluded the synod’s work. The Holy Father directed that this document would serve as the Lineamenta for the October 2015 XIV Ordinary General Assembly, on the topic, The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World.

The Lineamenta includes a series of questions designed to gauge how the document has been received and to generate an in-depth examination of the work started during the October 2014 Synod. Along with the Lineamenta, the results of this consultation will serve as the starting point for the October 2015 Synod.

The Archdiocese of Hartford, in faithful service to the Holy Father and the spirit of the Lineamenta, invites you to participate in this consultation by completing an online survey at the link below.  Do not feel that you have to answer every question. You may choose to focus on those relating to a particular area of expertise or experience, and you may skip questions that you do not feel qualified to answer. 

This survey is intended to be a prayerful reflection and response to challenges facing family life. A brief overview of the Synod of Bishops on the family and evangelization is available from the USCCB.

Link to USCCB: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/2014-2015-synods-of-bishops-on-the-family.cfm

Link to Lineamenta Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AOHLineamenta

From Friday, February 6 to Sunday, February 8, 2015 youth from Saint Augustine and Saint Anne-Immaculate Conception Parishes in Hartford, Saint Louis in West Haven, Holy Rosary and Assumption Parishes in Ansonia and Saint Maria Goretti in Wolcott, joined with Sister Aurea Maria, O.P., Sister Mary Karen, A.S.C.J., Father Jose Mercado, Father Diego Jimenez, Father Jeffrey Gubbiotti and Deacon Ramon Rosado traveled to Mount Saint Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland to join over 1,600 youth to attend the Mount 2000 Youth Eucharistic Retreat.  The theme of the retreat comes from Saint Catherine of Siena "If you become what you should be, you will set the world on fire!"  It was a weekend filled with many graces!  Above are pictures to share in the experience.