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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the congregation of St.
4Constance Church in Chicago on the occasion of the church's
5100th anniversary in 2016; and
 
6    WHEREAS, St. Constance Church was organized in 1916 at the
7request of 90 Polish families who belonged to Our Lady of
8Victory Church; members of the Polonia Club of Our Lady of
9Victory Roman Catholic Parish asked Auxiliary Bishop Paul P.
10Rhode to help them in their efforts to obtain a parish of their
11own; and
 
12    WHEREAS, On July 16, 1916, Archbishop George W. Mundelein
13appointed Rev. Alex Knitter, a former assistant at St. Adalbert
14Church, to organize the new national parish in the district
15known as Colonial Gardens, part of the larger Jefferson Park
16community; Father Knitter celebrated the first Mass in the home
17of Valentine Wachowski at Lawrence Avenue and Long Avenue; and
 
18    WHEREAS, On August 20, 1916, a simple frame church at
19Lawrence Avenue and Central Avenue, in the vicinity of the
20Dyniewicz Park subdivision, was rededicated as St. Constance
21Church; late in 1916, property bounded by Strong Street,
22Ainslie Street, Marmora Avenue, and Menard Avenue was selected

 

 

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1as the site of the new Polish parish; work later commenced on a
2three-story church and school building at 5809 West Strong
3Street, which was dedicated on October 7, 1917 by Archbishop
4Mundelein; the School Sisters of Notre Dame were invited by
5Father Knitter to staff the parish school; and
 
6    WHEREAS, St. Constance's modern church, designed by A.J.
7Del Bianco and Richard Donatoni, was completed in 1970; the
8bell tower was installed in 1980 and the wooden altar was
9installed by Jerzy Kenar in 1981; and
 
10    WHEREAS, In 1974, the Maximilian Kolbe School of Polish
11Language was founded at St. Constance Church; the school has
12continued its ministry of instructing young Chicagoans in the
13Polish language into the present day; and
 
14    WHEREAS, St. Constance Church remains a strong cultural
15center for the Polish diaspora in Chicago and much of the
16parish membership is Polish; confessions are still heard in
17Polish and liturgies held each Sunday are celebrated in both
18Polish and English; as the neighborhood has grown increasingly
19diverse, families of Italian, Irish, German, Filipino, and
20Latin American descent have joined this community of faith; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The congregation of St. Constance Church serve as
22models of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people

 

 

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1of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
4congratulate the congregation of St. Constance Church on the
5occasion of the church's 100th anniversary and wish them
6continued success and happiness in the future; and be it
7further
 
8    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
9presented to St. Constance Church as a symbol of our esteem and
10respect.