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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives wish to congratulate the congregation of St. | ||||||
4 | John the Baptist Catholic Church in Piopolis on the occasion of | ||||||
5 | the church's 175th anniversary in 2016; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The rich history of St. John The Baptist Catholic | ||||||
7 | Church began in 1841, when 25 pioneers left Ersingen, Germany | ||||||
8 | for the New World; they arrived in what is now Piopolis on | ||||||
9 | August 21, 1841; in 1843, additional setters came from Germany, | ||||||
10 | including Tobias Brummer, and the congregation's first Mass and | ||||||
11 | Baptism were performed by Fr. Elisha Durbin in a log cabin; and
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12 | WHEREAS, In 1844, a 40-acre tract of land was bought by | ||||||
13 | Cajetan Aydt and later deeded to Bishop William Quarters, the | ||||||
14 | Catholic Bishop of Chicago; in 1846, the first log church was | ||||||
15 | completed and St. John's first Mass was celebrated on Ash | ||||||
16 | Wednesday; in 1860, a new frame church was completed and Bishop | ||||||
17 | Juncker of Alton came for Confirmation; in 1864, the parish's | ||||||
18 | rectory was completed and Fr. Edward Harriman began serving as | ||||||
19 | Pastor; and
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20 | WHEREAS, In 1865, St. John's second resident pastor, Fr. | ||||||
21 | Winterhalter, was installed and the Precious Blood Sisters of | ||||||
22 | Burwell, Germany located their new convent at the church; in |
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1 | 1870, a two-story Motherhouse and school frame building was | ||||||
2 | completed and nine nuns from Gurtwell, Germany arrived; in | ||||||
3 | 1871, the third pastor, Fr. John Neuhaus, was installed; in | ||||||
4 | 1876, Fr. John N. Enzilberger became the fourth resident | ||||||
5 | pastor; and
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6 | WHEREAS, In 1877, 13 acres of church property were laid out | ||||||
7 | into 50 lots to become a small village named Piopolis in honor | ||||||
8 | of Pope Pius IX, who was celebrating his 50th year as Bishop; | ||||||
9 | in 1880, the foundation was laid for a new church after the | ||||||
10 | frame church was moved aside; in 1881, the cornerstore of the | ||||||
11 | brick church was laid; the church was completed by the end of | ||||||
12 | 1882 and was dedicated on October 1, 1884; and
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13 | WHEREAS, In 1892, a new rectory was built at St. John's; in | ||||||
14 | 1902, Fr. Bernard Reusch was installed as the fifth resident | ||||||
15 | pastor; in 1910, new altars were installed in the first brick | ||||||
16 | church; in 1914, a new two-story sisters house was built on the | ||||||
17 | grounds of the church's present day rectory; in 1924, the | ||||||
18 | church's present school building was completed and dedicated by | ||||||
19 | Bishop Henry Althoff; in 1927, Fr. Eckerman started the St. | ||||||
20 | John's Annual Picnic; and
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21 | WHEREAS, On June 13, 1953, a severe storm damaged St. | ||||||
22 | John's brick church, which had to be torn down and replaced; in | ||||||
23 | 1954, the cornerstone of the second brick church was laid in |
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1 | March and construction was completed and the building's first | ||||||
2 | Mass held on Christmas Day; in 1955, Fr. Eckerman became ill | ||||||
3 | and was replaced with Fr. Edmund Schumacher as administrator; | ||||||
4 | after Fr. Eckerman's death in 1962, Fr. Schumacher became the | ||||||
5 | seventh pastor of the parish; in 1965, Fr. Schumacher passed | ||||||
6 | away and Fr. Meinrad Dunn was assigned as the eighth pastor in | ||||||
7 | October; in 1972, Fr. Dunn left the church and was succeeded by | ||||||
8 | Fr. Albert Jerome; and
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9 | WHEREAS, In 1975, St. John's Parish Council was | ||||||
10 | established, with various organizations being represented; in | ||||||
11 | 1976, Fr. Jerome was transferred and Fr. James Van Oss was | ||||||
12 | installed as the 10th pastor of the parish; in 1981, the Parish | ||||||
13 | Council voted to redecorate the church and the Ministers of the | ||||||
14 | Eucharist was created; on July 6, 1982, Fr. Emil Maziarz was | ||||||
15 | installed as the 11th pastor; in 1983, Fr. Maziarz was assigned | ||||||
16 | to the Chancery Office and Fr. Joseph A. Lawler became the 12th | ||||||
17 | pastor of the church; and
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18 | WHEREAS, In 1991, St. John's celebrated the church's | ||||||
19 | Sesquicentennial of the Parish with various activities | ||||||
20 | including a photo directory, a history of the parish, a | ||||||
21 | re-enactment of the arrival of the first immigrants to | ||||||
22 | Piopolis, and other observances; in 1993, The Holy Name | ||||||
23 | Shooting Match was held in October and a Mission was held in | ||||||
24 | November; on April 19, 1996, a tornado hit the church, causing |
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1 | over $100,000 in damages; new roofs were placed on the garage, | ||||||
2 | house, school, and one-half of the church; in 2002, an outdoor | ||||||
3 | pavilion and new vesting cabinetry were installed; and
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4 | WHEREAS, St. John's hosted the Farm Blessing on April 26, | ||||||
5 | 2007; on May 22, 2009, Fr. Slawomir Ptak of Poland became the | ||||||
6 | church's Associate Pastor; following Fr. Joseph Lawler's | ||||||
7 | retirement on July 12, 2011, Fr. Ptak became the 13th pastor of | ||||||
8 | the parish; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, The congregation of St. John's serve as models of | ||||||
10 | hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the | ||||||
11 | State of Illinois; therefore, be it
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12 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
13 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
14 | congratulate the congregation of St. John the Baptist Catholic | ||||||
15 | Church on the occasion of the church's 175th anniversary and | ||||||
16 | wish them continued success and happiness in the future; and be | ||||||
17 | it further
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18 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
19 | presented to the congregation of St. John the Baptist Catholic | ||||||
20 | Church as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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