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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 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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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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.
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