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2020 Survey

Of online Masses in the Archdiocese of Hartford during the pandemic of 2020.

As of the first Sunday of Advent 2022, November 26/27, Archbishop Blair has directed that a prayer for vocations replace the praying of the St. Michael prayer after Masses. He hopes that we will pray the St. Michael prayer privately. The letter is read in this video.

Why a survey?

At the beginning of the pandemic, Catholics in the Connecticut Catholic Facebook group discussed how the St. Michael prayer was not being prayed by every parish and priest as per the Archbishop's decree. 

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Shortly after the discussion, churches were closed to the public. It seemed that nothing could be done to correct or even check these omissions.

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Then the pandemic provided a unique opportunity: many parishes began to record and post their Masses online. 

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The survey not only revealed information about compliance with the Archbishop's decree, but about the liturgical state of the Archdiocese.

What did the survey look for?

The Archbishop's Decree of September 11, 2018 requires the following:

  1. Restoration of the practice of praying the traditional prayer to St. Michael.

  2. To be said after all scheduled Sunday and weekday Masses.

  3. To be said by the celebrant and the people.

  4. To be said after the Dismissal and before the recessional hymn.

  5. The prayer may be in your missal, if not, here is the prayer provided in the Decree: "St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen."

What were the results of the survey?

The results of the survey (as reported to Archbishop Blair in a letter dated November 27, 2020) were as follows: 

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"As of June [2020], of the 131 parishes of the Archdiocese, 87 parishes had recordings of Masses online. Of those 87 parishes, 29 parishes and 42 priests were not praying the St. Michael prayer or were not praying it consistently. At one parish where the priests don’t pray the prayer, after the priests leave the altar, laypeople pray the prayer themselves. At another parish, a layperson leads the prayer before Mass. Of the 57 parishes praying the prayer, 10 priests at 8 parishes were praying the prayer in the wrong place during Mass. These places included after the Prayer of the Faithful, before the Final Blessing and before the Dismissal."

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  • 2/3 of parishes were online

  • 1/3 were not praying the St. Michael prayer

What else did the survey find?

The following* are just a few of the other issues found:

 

*Clicking on the underlined text will open pop-up boxes with information about the abuse. Scroll down to the x to close. The information has also been added to a new section: Abuses.​

This site is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph. 

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