Full Text of HR0398 96th General Assembly
HR0398 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR0398 |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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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| 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.
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