093_HR0228
LRB093 11573 HSS 14834 r
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives are
3 pleased to recognize significant milestones in the lives of
4 those distinguished individuals who have dedicated their
5 endeavors to the service of others; and
6 WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that Father William
7 Patrick Murphy is celebrating his 60th Jubilee of ordination
8 to the holy priesthood on May 4, 2003; and
9 WHEREAS, Born in Chicago on November 6, 1915, to the
10 union of William and Ellen Howley Murphy, Irish immigrants
11 from County Mayo, William Patrick Murphy graduated from
12 Visitation Grammar School on Garfield Boulevard in Chicago;
13 and
14 WHEREAS, Grateful for "the formative education bestowed
15 by the Augustinian Fathers" at St. Rita High School, young
16 Bill Murphy excelled in sports as well as academics; he won
17 the highly contested Gold Medal for Oratory in his junior and
18 senior years at St. Rita High School; and
19 WHEREAS, William Murphy took special studies at historic
20 Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary while working as a
21 bellhop at the Del Prado Hotel in Hyde Park; and
22 WHEREAS, After graduation from Quigley, William Murphy
23 entered the Major Seminary of St. Mary of the Lake in
24 Mundelein and was ordained in 1943 by Samuel Cardinal
25 Stritch; and
26 WHEREAS, During seven years of the ten years of his first
27 assignment at St. Gertrude Parish in Chicago's Rogers Park,
28 Father Murphy was full-time chairman of the Religion
29 Department at Mundelein College for Women on North Sheridan
30 Road, and he also taught religion at the nearby Loyola
31 University for a time; and
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1 WHEREAS, Upon returning from studies at Oxford University
2 in England, Father Murphy was assigned to St. Leo Parish on
3 the south side of Chicago where he served as an assistant to
4 Msgr. Patrick Molloy for ten years; and
5 WHEREAS, Father Murphy is remembered by countless alumni
6 as the chaplain at Leo High School from 1955 to 1963 and Fox
7 Business College from 1960 to 1963; and
8 WHEREAS, From 1963 to 1968, Father Murphy happily served
9 St. Monica's Parish and later at St. Robert Bellarmine Parish
10 from 1968 to 1973; and
11 WHEREAS, On May 23, 1973, John Cardinal Cody appointed
12 Father Murphy to serve at Queen of Martyrs Parish in
13 Evergreen Park; and
14 WHEREAS, Coming to a parish which was $600,000 in debt,
15 Father Murphy was able to lead his parishioners to wipe out
16 the obligation and add $200,000 in improvements to the church
17 and school buildings in ten years; and
18 WHEREAS, He has been an outspoken advocate for Pro-Life
19 apostolates and a "teacher" of children and adults in Church
20 history and love and loyalty to the Church; and
21 WHEREAS, He has never lost interest in politics, world
22 affairs, or a good book; and
23 WHEREAS, On November 17, 1985, Father Murphy celebrated a
24 Mass of Thanksgiving at Queen of Martyrs Church to mark his
25 retirement and his 70th birthday; and
26 WHEREAS, After being named Pastor Emeritus of Queen of
27 Martyrs by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, he has, for the past 18
28 years, continued to serve subsequent pastors Father William
29 Gubbins, Father Patrick Lyons, and Father Edward Mikolajczyk
30 loyally and with enthusiasm; and
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1 WHEREAS, Father Murphy, having reached the mellow age of
2 87 years, continues to perform his priestly ministry to
3 school children and adult parishioners of Queen of Martyrs
4 with dedication and eloquence; and
5 WHEREAS, Father Murphy will celebrate a Mass of
6 Thanksgiving at Queen of Martyrs Church on May 4, 2003, to
7 commemorate his 60th Jubilee of ordination to the holy
8 priesthood; therefore, be it
9 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
10 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
11 we congratulate Father Murphy upon his 60th Jubilee as a
12 priest of the Roman Catholic Church, we commend him for his
13 years of devotion to his faith the people he continues to
14 serve, and we take this opportunity to wish him many more
15 years of continued health and happiness in the future; and be
16 it further
17 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to Father Murphy as a formal indication of the
19 respect and admiration we have for him.