Full Text of SR0574 103rd General Assembly
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to | 3 | | congratulate the Diocese of Springfield on the occasion of its | 4 | | centennial anniversary of the transfer of the diocese from | 5 | | Alton to Springfield; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, On October 2, 1923, Pope Pius II translated the | 7 | | diocesan See from Alton to Springfield; the pope named James | 8 | | Aloysius Griffin, the pastor of St. Mary Nativity Catholic | 9 | | Church in Joliet, the bishop who would be responsible for | 10 | | moving the chancery from Alton to Springfield; he arrived in | 11 | | Springfield on February 28, 1924; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Bishop Griffin was installed as the bishop at St. | 13 | | Mary's Church, which served as the pro-cathedral of the | 14 | | diocese for the next four years; in 1927, he launched the | 15 | | Cathedral Campaign to raise money to replace the aging | 16 | | Cathedral building; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Bishop Griffin assisted Cardinal George Mundelein | 18 | | in planning and hosting the 28th International Eucharistic | 19 | | Congress in Chicago from June 24 to June 26, 1926, where | 20 | | hundreds of thousands of Catholics were in attendance; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, After the congress, Bishop Griffin hosted several |
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| 1 | | cardinals, archbishops, and bishops in Springfield for the | 2 | | Central Verein Convention on June 2, 1926, where he led | 3 | | attendees on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Abraham Lincoln; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Bishop Griffin dedicated and opened the newly | 5 | | constructed Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, with the | 6 | | dedication ceremonies taking place from October 14 to October | 7 | | 16, 1928; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, From 1932 through 1937, during a labor dispute in | 9 | | Springfield known as the Coal Miner's War, Bishop Griffin | 10 | | attempted to negotiate fair wages for workers in the various | 11 | | mines throughout the diocese; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Bishop Griffin died on August 5, 1948, leading | 13 | | Pope Pius XII to appoint William Aloysius O'Connor to be the | 14 | | next bishop of Springfield on December 28, 1948; he arrived in | 15 | | the city on March 16, 1949; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, After St. Anthony's Hospital in Effingham was | 17 | | destroyed by a fire on April 4, 1949, Bishop O'Connor oversaw | 18 | | the updating of hospitals and diocesan properties to prevent | 19 | | future fire disasters, establishing the Office of Insurance to | 20 | | assist in this endeavor; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, In 1959, Bishop O'Connor was able to attend all |
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| 1 | | four sessions of the ecumenical council, known as Vatican II; | 2 | | and | 3 | | WHEREAS, In 1969, Bishop O'Connor established the Office | 4 | | for Worship and the Office for Catholic Education, the first | 5 | | of many curial agencies created to assist parishes and other | 6 | | Catholic institutions in the diocese; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, On July 22, 1975, Bishop O'Connor submitted his | 8 | | retirement, and Pope Paul VI appointed Joseph A. McNicholas as | 9 | | the next bishop in Springfield; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Bishop McNicholas was a staunch civil rights | 11 | | advocate, and he was a leader in school desegregation and | 12 | | helped organize the Martin Luther King Day Breakfast; as a | 13 | | priest and auxiliary bishop in St. Louis, his assignments | 14 | | included serving on the Health & Welfare Council of St. Louis, | 15 | | the National Association of Social Workers, the Missouri Child | 16 | | Welfare Commission, and the National Office of Black | 17 | | Catholics; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, In 1976, Bishop McNicholas implemented a | 19 | | diocesan-wide pro-life program in response to the 1973 Roe v. | 20 | | Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Bishop McNicholas' episcopacy was short lived |
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| 1 | | when he died suddenly on April 17, 1983; his predecessor, | 2 | | Bishop O'Connor, died that same year on November 14, 1983; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Pope John Paul II appointed Daniel Ryan as the | 4 | | next bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, and he was | 5 | | installed on January 18, 1984; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, In July 1995, facing a declining number of | 7 | | priests, Bishop Ryan oversaw the Parish Pastoral Plan, | 8 | | designed to study the status of parishes and priests across | 9 | | the diocese and offer solutions for long-term parish vitality; | 10 | | and | 11 | | WHEREAS, On October 19, 1999, the Vatican announced the | 12 | | retirement of Bishop Ryan and the appointment of Bishop George | 13 | | J. Lucas as his successor; a priest of the Archdiocese of St. | 14 | | Louis, he was the first appointee to be ordained as a bishop in | 15 | | the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Bishop Lucas launched the endowment campaign | 17 | | Harvest of Thanks-Springtime of Hope to ensure long-term | 18 | | viability of the diocese, including supporting the work of | 19 | | Catholic Charities, assisting in the formation of seminarians | 20 | | and deacon candidates, and providing aid for the care of | 21 | | retired priests of the diocese; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The Diocese of Springfield celebrated the 150th | 2 | | anniversary of its founding with Jubilee 2003, an event that | 3 | | officially began on December 9, 2002; the diocese held a day | 4 | | long celebration at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, where an | 5 | | estimated 20,000 Catholics from all over the diocese attended | 6 | | on June 28, 2003; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, In May 2007, Bishop Lucas initiated the Built on | 8 | | Faith-Renewed in Hope campaign to raise the $11 million | 9 | | dollars needed to restore the Cathedral of the Immaculate | 10 | | Conception; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, On July 22, 2009, Bishop Lucas was appointed the | 12 | | Archbishop of Omaha, becoming the first bishop of the Diocese | 13 | | of Springfield to be appointed to archbishop; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, On April 20, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed | 15 | | Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Archdiocese of Chicago as | 16 | | Bishop Lucas' successor, and he was installed as the ninth and | 17 | | current bishop of the Diocese of Springfield on June 22, 2010; | 18 | | and | 19 | | WHEREAS, In 2017, Bishop Paprocki guided the diocese | 20 | | through the Fourth Diocesan Synod with the goal of convincing | 21 | | clergy and the laity to make a heartfelt commitment to | 22 | | stewardship and discipleship as a way of life; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Bishop Paprocki has made the connection between | 2 | | sports and faith as a focus of his ministry, writing two books, | 3 | | Holy Goals for Body and Soul: Eight Steps to Connect Sports | 4 | | with God and Faith and Running for a Higher Purpose: Eight | 5 | | Steps to Spiritual and Physical Fitness; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Bishop Paprocki currently serves as an adjunct | 7 | | professor of Law, Business, and Bioethics at Quincy | 8 | | University's Oakley School of Business; he also serves on the | 9 | | Illinois Catholic Health Association Board and as the chairman | 10 | | of the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance | 11 | | for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Thousands of Catholics from across the Diocese of | 13 | | Springfield will join Bishop Paprocki as he celebrates Mass at | 14 | | the first Eucharistic Congress at the Bank of Springfield | 15 | | Center in Springfield on October 28, 2023; therefore, be it | 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 17 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the | 18 | | Diocese of Springfield on the occasion of its centennial | 19 | | anniversary of the transfer of the diocese from Alton to | 20 | | Springfield, and we recognize the contributions bishops of the | 21 | | diocese have made to the community throughout the years; and | 22 | | be it further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | presented to the Diocese of Springfield as a symbol of our | 3 | | esteem and respect. |
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