Dear Parishioners and Friends,
As I write this message I am occasionally glancing out the window as a bomb cyclone/blizzard/nor’easter creates a polar landscape throughout the Northeast. All this is coming in the final week of February, and we still have at least three more weeks before Spring arrives. Hopefully, by Easter Sunday we will be out of winter’s severe grip. I hope everyone got through the snow and winds without too much difficulty.
You might notice that the covers of the bulletin for the Sundays of Lent this year feature paintings by the Italian artist Duccio di Buoninsegna who died in 1319. He lived most of his life in Siena, Tuscany, and one of his most famous works was the Maestà altar-piece for the Duomo (cathedral) in that city.
The Maestà consisted of a large painting of the Madonna and Child on the front side, and numerous smaller panels on the backside of scenes from the life of Mary and the life of Christ. The altarpiece was dedicated in the Duomo in 1311 and remained in place until 1771 when it was sawn in half (like two sides of an Oreo cookie), and many of the panels ended up being dispersed to museums in Europe and the United States.
About a year ago I wrote about an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York entitled “Siena: The Rise of Painting (1300-1350)”, which included a collection of individual panels from the Maestà. Coincidentally, five of the panels from the exhibit depicted the Gospel scenes for Lent in Year A: the temptation of Jesus on the mountain; the Transfiguration of Jesus (a photo I took myself ); the Samaritan woman at the well; the man born blind; the raising of Lazarus. Each of the bulletin covers for the five Sundays of Lent will feature these paintings, as well as a separate painting by Duccio for Palm Sunday.
To have the opportunity of viewing these paintings in person, and in their original arrangement, was a rare treat; I hope you will enjoy seeing them here one at a time!
Fr. Tim Shreenan, O.F.M.
Pastor
The 2026 Archbishop’s Annual Appeal has begun in our parish. If you haven’t already, you will soon receive a letter from Archbishop Coyne seeking your support. As Catholics in the Archdiocese of Hartford, we can have a profound impact on our local communities not only spiritually, but intimately con-nected to it, the realm of social services and many charities and outreach services performed by, or with help from, our Church.
Please take a moment to watch the launch video here:
We hope you can help us meet our parish goal of $115,000. If you would like to make a gift, please mail in your pledge card. You may also visit the Archdiocesan website at www.archdioceseof-hartford.org or call the Appeal Office at (800) 781-2550. Keep in mind that an early pledge will allow you to best use the monthly payment plan.
All funds contributed to the Archbishop’s Annual Ap-peal are used exclusively for the purposes outlined in the Appeal literature, which can be found at https:// archdioceseofhartford.org/appeal/. No Appeal funds are ever used for legal fees or settlements.