Welcome to "The One"!

Allow me to begin by offering my sincere thanks to everyone who attended the gatherings of parish leaders that began in January and ended a few weeks ago. More than 2,300 parish leaders attended these nine meetings. I am deeply grateful for the commitment of time and travel made by those who were able to participate in what I believe is an audacious invitation by the Holy Spirit to foster a true and lasting renewal of our Church. I call it “The One” because it is the single greatest priority we will embrace as a diocesan family in the years ahead.

As I indicated in my remarks, a key objective in changing the culture of our Church is to foster ongoing communication among everyone in leadership. Such communication will be both informational and formational; that is, provide information about ongoing opportunities to encounter the Lord through truth, beauty and goodness, as well as provide materials to deepen our understanding and appreciation of what a culture of “evangelizing catechesis” really means. Such sustained communication is essential for our work to succeed.

I am pleased to send you this first message in what I hope will be a weekly correspondence emailed to all parish leaders every Monday. What accompanies this inaugural bulletin is a “white paper” that summarizes the main theological points of my presentation. In addition to English, the white paper is available in Spanish, Portuguese and Creole.

Future weeks will highlight initiatives that already exist, providing opportunities to encounter the Lord’s truth, love and mercy in ordinary and extraordinary ways. Future messages will also feature vibrant small communities of faith that already exist throughout the Diocese, as well as formational questions for your personal reflection.

Our work to rebuild a vibrant, faithful and transformative Catholic culture has begun in earnest. Please join me in prayer, through the intercession of the Mother of God, that our work will bear great fruit in the years ahead.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano
Bishop of Bridgeport

My dear friends,

I had the great privilege to meet with more than 2,300 parish leaders at the start of 2023, in a series of meetings that introduced “the One”. Many thanks to everyone who was able to attend those meetings and the feedback that you offered following our conversations.

At that time, I mentioned my plan to have a second set of meetings, arranged by deaneries, to allow all the pastors, along with their lay leaders, to explore specific opportunities that the One could offer their parishes. These meetings will also provide a forum wherein we can begin to explore regional ministry planning.

Each meeting will begin with a light breakfast at 8:30 AM, followed by prayer and the start of the meeting at 9:00 AM. The entire session will conclude before 11:00 AM.

All pastoral and administrative parish leaders are invited to attend their respective location meetings. This includes the parish trustees, members of finance and pastoral councils, all liturgical ministers, and catechists. Please note that you will be asked to attend the meeting in your deanery.

Planning continues to finalize these meetings. A detailed update will be sent to you at the end of August and registration will open in LEAD on September 1, 2023. For now, please mark your calendars and make every effort to attend these historic gatherings!

Please know of my prayers for you and your families. Best wishes for a blessed summer.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano
Bishop of Bridgeport

Upcoming Meetings

The dates and locations for the nine regional meetings are:

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Jan 13