Bishop Blaire’s Early Years
 

The Most Rev­erend Stephen E. Blaire was born in Los Ange­les, Cal­i­for­nia in 1941, the twelfth of four­teen chil­dren. He was raised in the San Fer­nando Val­ley where he attended local Catholic schools. After grad­u­at­ing from Queen of Angels High School Sem­i­nary in 1959, Bishop Blaire entered St. John’s Col­lege and Sem­i­nary in Camar­illo.
 

Bishop Blaire is pic­tured here with his mother on the day of his Ordi­na­tion to the priest­hood. He was ordained by Car­di­nal McIn­tyre on April 29, 1967.

On 29 April 1967, Rev­erend Blaire was ordained to the priest­hood for the Arch­dio­cese of Los Ange­les by James Fran­cis Car­di­nal McIn­tyre. Rev­erend Blaire’s first assign­ment was as Asso­ciate Pas­tor at St. Luke’s Church in Tem­ple City. In 1972, he began four­teen years of min­istry with Catholic sec­ondary edu­ca­tion, first as a teacher and admin­is­tra­tor at Bishop Ale­many High School in Mis­sion Hills, then as Vice Prin­ci­pal at Bishop Amat High School in La Puente. From 1977 to 1986, he returned to Bishop Ale­many High School as Principal.

The young Rev. Blaire, pictured above was the Cel­e­brant at the wed­ding of a cou­ple with whom he is still in con­tact.

In 1986, Rev­erend Blaire was appointed as the Mod­er­a­tor of the Curia and Chan­cel­lor of the Arch­dio­cese of Los Ange­les. On 31 May 1990 he was ordained an Aux­il­iary Bishop of Los Ange­les and Tit­u­lar Bishop of Lamzella by Car­di­nal Roger Mahony. Bishop Blaire served as a Vicar Gen­eral for the Arch­dio­cese of Los Ange­les from 1990 and Regional Bishop of Our Lady of the Angels Pas­toral Region from 1995 to 1999.

On 19 Jan­u­ary 1999 it was announced that Pope John Paul II had appointed Bishop Blaire as the Bishop of Stock­ton. The Most Rev­erend Stephen E. Blaire was installed as the fifth Bishop of Stock­ton on 16 March 1999 at the Cathe­dral of the Annun­ci­a­tion.

Retir­ing Bishop Mon­trose hands Bishop Blaire the sym­bol of his Office as local Bishop of the Dio­cese of Stock­ton. Also pic­tured to the left is Arch­bishop Wil­iam Lev­ada of San Fran­cisco and Arch­bishop Pio Laghi, Papal Nunico to the United States.