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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that St. Vincent
3 Ferrer Parish is celebrating its 75th anniversary during 2006;
4 and
 
5     WHEREAS, In 1922, George Cardinal Mundelein, then
6 Archbishop of Chicago, granted to the Dominican Order a unique
7 privilege by giving it permission to establish a parish to
8 serve an area comprising north River Forest and south Elmwood
9 Park; this was unique in that the property to be acquired would
10 be owned by the Dominican Order rather than by the Archdiocese
11 of Chicago; thus, the order would have the complete
12 responsibility for financing, developing, and maintaining the
13 proposed parish; and
 
14     WHEREAS, The Order began implementing its plan for this new
15 parish in 1923 when it appointed the Reverend John Dooley,
16 O.P., as titular pastor; for approximately $33,000 Father
17 Dooley purchased the full square block which encompasses the
18 present church, school, convent, and rectory; the parish was
19 named in honor of St. Vincent Ferrer, the Dominican known as
20 the "Patron of Builders"; and
 
21     WHEREAS, In 1931, with approximately 35 families in the
22 parish, the Reverend William McIntyre, O.P., was appointed
23 pastor; he began holding services in the auditorium of Trinity
24 High School; the following autumn a temporary frame church,
25 accommodating about two hundred people, was erected facing
26 North Avenue; in December of the same year, the people of St.
27 Vincent Ferrer Parish were able to attend Mass in their own
28 church; three years later the number of families in the
29 fledgling parish had grown to 64; and
 
30     WHEREAS, In 1940 the school building consisting of four
31 classrooms was constructed; the total enrollment was 44, with

 

 

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1 the largest class boasting 12 pupils; of the four classrooms,
2 only three were used for school; the fourth served as a winter
3 chapel because of the difficulty in adequately heating the
4 frame church; the new school was staffed by the Dominican
5 Sisters of Sinsinawa with Sister Ramona McAllister, O.P., as
6 principal; and
 
7     WHEREAS, In 1945 the old frame church was sold for $400; it
8 was moved to Wood Dale, where it again became a "first" church,
9 that of Holy Ghost Parish of the Diocese of Joliet;
10 refurbished, it remained in use through August of 1981; and
 
11     WHEREAS, During Father Richard B. Connolly's pastorate the
12 present convent was erected, two classrooms were added to the
13 school, and in 1949, the rectory was built; on October 25,
14 1954, the cornerstone of the present church was laid and
15 construction was begun; in less than two years, St. Vincent
16 Ferrer Church was completed; it was consecrated by Cardinal
17 Stritch on September 23, 1956; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Reverend Vincent W. Bryce, O.P., served from July,
19 1970, to July of 1979; the outstanding characteristic of Father
20 Bryce's pastorate was the implementation of his conviction that
21 every parish should be a living Christian community, and that
22 the principal endeavor of the pastor and staff is to create an
23 atmosphere in which this Christian community can be nurtured
24 and developed; building on the accomplishments of the previous
25 pastors, he shepherded the parish as it came alive spiritually,
26 liturgically, and socially, so that today, at St. Vincent's the
27 people truly are the Church, and this Church is truly a
28 Christian community; and
 
29     WHEREAS, The current pastor of St. Vincent Ferrer is Fr.
30 Thomas D. Noesen, O.P.; Fr. Robert Kilbridge, O.P., Fr. Albert
31 G. Judy, O.P., and Fr. Michael Kyte serve as Pastoral Vicars;
32 Mr. Jerome J. Trakszelis and Mr. John Gaughan serve as Deacons;

 

 

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1 Mr. Robert Sassetti is Deacon Emeritus; Ms. Frances Mazzula is
2 the Principal of St. Vincent Ferrer School; Mrs. Karen Dix is
3 the Director of the Parish School of Religion; Mr. Steve Senski
4 serves as Worship Director; and Mr. Patrick Curran serves as
5 Youth Director; therefore, be it
 
6     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
7 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
8 we congratulate the staff and parishioners of St. Vincent
9 Ferrer Parish on the occasion of the parish's 75th anniversary;
10 and be it further
 
11     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12 presented to St. Vincent Ferrer Parish as an expression of our
13 esteem.