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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate the congregation
4 of the St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Rockford on the occasion
5 of the church's 100th anniversary in 2009; and
 
6     WHEREAS, St. Anthony of Padua Parish was established in
7 1909 to minister to the Italian immigrants of South Rockford by
8 Reverend Anthony V. Marchesano, the parish's first pastor until
9 his death in 1929; the church was named in honor of St.
10 Anthony, a highly venerated saint for whom many miracles have
11 been recognized; and
 
12     WHEREAS, In 1933, Bishop Hoban asked the Conventual
13 Franciscan Friars to provide ongoing pastoral care to the
14 parish; the friars continue their ministry there today; and
 
15     WHEREAS, St. Anthony of Padua Parish is well known in its
16 community for its ornate, Romanesque style of architecture; in
17 1997, a Memory Garden was created, featuring bronze statues of
18 children and saints, religious shrines, memorials, flowers,
19 shrubs, trees, benches, walkways, decorative lights, stone
20 urns, a fountain, a bridge, and a flagpole; over forty thousand
21 bricks are installed in the garden, with inscriptions of the
22 names of the priests, friars, sisters, and families who have

 

 

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1 been part of the parish's history; the garden was featured on
2 Rockford's annual Garden Glory Walk and has won awards from the
3 Rockford Area Gardeners of America and the Rockford Park
4 District Foundation's City of Gardens program; and
 
5     WHEREAS, From its creation in 1909 to today, the St.
6 Anthony of Padua Parish is still a predominantly
7 Italian-American parish; the parish is officially considered
8 by the Rockford Catholic Diocese as the Italian Catholic church
9 of Rockford; the church has stood as both an important and
10 enduring foundation in the lives and faith of Rockford's
11 Italian-American community and as an important landmark in
12 southern Rockford; and
 
13     WHEREAS, The congregation of St. Anthony of Padua Parish
14 have celebrated the church's 100th anniversary with year-long
15 celebratory festivities, which will culminate on the church's
16 centennial date of October 18, 2009; therefore, be it
 
17     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
19 congratulate the congregation of the St. Anthony of Padua
20 Parish on the occasion of the church's 100th anniversary and
21 wish them continued success and happiness in the future; and be
22 it further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to Reverend Anthony Labedis, Pastor of the St.
3 Anthony of Padua Parish, as a symbol of our esteem and respect.