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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 Fr. Thomas Bernas | ||||||
| 4 | for his 15 years of dedicated service at St. Richard Catholic | ||||||
| 5 | Church in Chicago; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Thomas Bernas was born in Evergreen Park, in 1958; | ||||||
| 7 | he attended St. Pancratius Grammar School and Quigley | ||||||
| 8 | Preparatory Seminary South; after graduating from high school | ||||||
| 9 | in 1976, he enrolled at the Loyola University of Chicago, where | ||||||
| 10 | he earned his degree in 1980; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Thomas Bernas entered seminary in 1989 at the St. | ||||||
| 12 | Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein; after his ordination in | ||||||
| 13 | 1994 at Holy Name Cathedral by Cardinal Bernardin, he was | ||||||
| 14 | assigned to St. Richard Catholic Church in 1997 as an | ||||||
| 15 | administrator; his conscientious and tireless work for the | ||||||
| 16 | parish resulted in his appointment as pastor in 1999; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, During his tenure as pastor, Thomas Bernas devoted | ||||||
| 18 | his time and energy to improving the community of St. Richard | ||||||
| 19 | Catholic Church and the surrounding area; he overhauled the | ||||||
| 20 | parish's finances, paying off its debt and keeping it | ||||||
| 21 | debt-free; he completed several renovation projects initiated | ||||||
| 22 | by his predecessor, including the re-painting of the church, | ||||||
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| 1 | the replacement of the church's organ, and the installation of | ||||||
| 2 | an elevator to facilitate handicapped access; he oversaw the | ||||||
| 3 | construction of the St. Richard Parish Center and a gymnasium | ||||||
| 4 | used by the school's children and numerous community groups; he | ||||||
| 5 | also supervised a complete renovation of the priest's residence | ||||||
| 6 | and was instrumental in the creation of a recent building | ||||||
| 7 | renovation and floor plan reconfiguration; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Thomas Bernas has been an active member of his | ||||||
| 9 | community life; every year, he has hosted the Archer Heights | ||||||
| 10 | Civic Association Halloween Party for community children in the | ||||||
| 11 | church hall and an annual blessing of Chicago firefighters, | ||||||
| 12 | paramedics, and police officers; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, After 15 years of service at St. Richard, Thomas | ||||||
| 14 | Bernas will begin a new assignment at St. Rene Goupil Parish, | ||||||
| 15 | where he will undoubtedly continue his wonderful work in | ||||||
| 16 | service of his congregation and the community as a whole; | ||||||
| 17 | therefore, be it
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| 18 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 19 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 20 | we congratulate Fr. Thomas Bernas for his 15 years of dedicated | ||||||
| 21 | service at St. Richard Catholic Church and wish him continued | ||||||
| 22 | success and happiness at St. Rene Goupil Parish; and be it | ||||||
| 23 | further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | presented to Thomas Bernas as a symbol of our esteem and | ||||||
| 3 | respect.
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