Bishop Emeritus Stephen E. Blaire, fifth bishop of Stockton, passed away Tuesday, June 18, 2019.
For more than 19 years Bishop Blaire served the people of the Diocese of Stockton and before his retirement, he led the groundwork to significantly strengthen the greatly underfunded Priest Retirement Fund.
The Priest Retirement Fund became one of Bishop Blaire’s most important initiatives and with the support of Bishop Myron Cotta, they created a task force to secure funding to fortify the future of the Priest Retirement Fund.
Your gift will be a meaningful investment and a true blessing for the care and comfort of our spiritual leaders in priestly ministry as they enter the retirement phase of their lives. The days of most of our retired priests are quite full with the celebration of Masses, confessions, retreats, visiting the sick and helping out where needed. Most priests never really retire from pastoral ministry.
The Priest Retirement Fund will memorialize the legacy of the late Bishop Emeritus Stephen E. Blaire and, in the spirit of love, will provide a dignified retirement for our priests. The Priest Retirement Fund envisioned by the late Bishop Emeritus Stephen E. Blaire will serve the Church and its retired priests for many years to come.
To learn more about Bishop Emeritus Stephen E. Blaire’s life, visit the diocesan press release here.
To make a memorial gift online, visit the Priest Retirement Fund web page.
To mail your memorial gift:
Please make checks payable to
The Roman Catholic Bishop of Stockton Priest Retirement Fund
c/o The Diocese of Stockton
212 N. San Joaquin Street
Stockton, CA 95202