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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate Father Thomas P. | ||||||
| 4 | May, Pastor of the Saint John Brebeuf Parish in Niles, on the | ||||||
| 5 | 25th anniversary of his ordination; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Thomas P. May was born on August 17, 1955 on the | ||||||
| 7 | Northwest side of Chicago; he was the second of five children | ||||||
| 8 | born to Joseph and Geraldine May; he attended Divine Savior | ||||||
| 9 | Elementary School, followed by Notre Dame High School for Boys; | ||||||
| 10 | he graduated from DePaul University in 1977 with a Bachelor of | ||||||
| 11 | Science Degree in Commerce; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Having received the call of the Holy Spirit, | ||||||
| 13 | Thomas May entered Mundelein Seminary in 1979; he served as a | ||||||
| 14 | Deacon at St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Parish on the Southside of | ||||||
| 15 | Chicago from 1982-1983; he was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest | ||||||
| 16 | on May 7, 1983; during his studies at Mundelein, he earned a | ||||||
| 17 | Masters of Divinity Degree; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Over the next 16 years, Father May served as | ||||||
| 19 | Associate Pastor at St. Benedict, St. Priscilla, and St. John | ||||||
| 20 | Fisher Parishes, faithfully serving Catholics throughout the | ||||||
| 21 | City of Chicago; during this time, he implemented many programs | ||||||
| 22 | and oversaw numerous events at his parishes, forming an | ||||||
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| 1 | unending bond with the people of faith whose lives he touched; | ||||||
| 2 | and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, After honing his leadership skills, Father Thomas | ||||||
| 4 | May was selected as Pastor of St. John Brebeuf Parish, in | ||||||
| 5 | Niles, in 1999; there he utilized his years of experience in | ||||||
| 6 | working with the people of God, in leading a flock of his own; | ||||||
| 7 | under his direction, St. John Brebeuf Parish has flourished, | ||||||
| 8 | with over 3,500 registered parishioner families, a large | ||||||
| 9 | Elementary School, and a bustling Religious Education Program;
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| 10 | Father Thomas May led St. John Brebeuf Parish into its Golden | ||||||
| 11 | Age, having presided over the Parish's 50th Anniversary; under | ||||||
| 12 | his guidance, plans were formulated, funds were raised, and | ||||||
| 13 | construction was completed, for the renovation of everything | ||||||
| 14 | from new roofs to new parking lots; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, One of Father Tom's finest achievements was the | ||||||
| 16 | building of the Parish Ministry Center, an 18,000 square-foot | ||||||
| 17 | community space; a Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel was | ||||||
| 18 | also added to the Parish; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, With a true sense of "One World-One Church", | ||||||
| 20 | Father Thomas May has spearheaded projects to lend aid to | ||||||
| 21 | numerous humanitarian relief missions, both in the United | ||||||
| 22 | States and abroad, such as providing assistance to an Orphanage | ||||||
| 23 | in the Dominican Republic, a School for Girls in Africa, the | ||||||
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| 1 | needs of the Church in Poland, and The Women's Center in | ||||||
| 2 | Chicago; throughout his 25 years as a priest, Father May has | ||||||
| 3 | continued to serve the Archdiocese of Chicago; therefore, be it
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| 4 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 5 | NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 6 | congratulate Father Thomas May and wish him the best as he | ||||||
| 7 | continues to serve the Lord; and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to Father Thomas May as a symbol of our respect and | ||||||
| 10 | esteem.
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