Full Text of HR1350 99th General Assembly
HR1350 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR1350 | | LRB099 22226 GRL 49595 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate the congregation of St. | 4 | | Constance Church in Chicago on the occasion of the church's | 5 | | 100th anniversary in 2016; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, St. Constance Church was organized in 1916 at the | 7 | | request of 90 Polish families who belonged to Our Lady of | 8 | | Victory Church; members of the Polonia Club of Our Lady of | 9 | | Victory Roman Catholic Parish asked Auxiliary Bishop Paul P. | 10 | | Rhode to help them in their efforts to obtain a parish of their | 11 | | own; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, On July 16, 1916, Archbishop George W. Mundelein | 13 | | appointed Rev. Alex Knitter, a former assistant at St. Adalbert | 14 | | Church, to organize the new national parish in the district | 15 | | known as Colonial Gardens, part of the larger Jefferson Park | 16 | | community; Father Knitter celebrated the first Mass in the home | 17 | | of Valentine Wachowski at Lawrence Avenue and Long Avenue; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, On August 20, 1916, a simple frame church at | 19 | | Lawrence Avenue and Central Avenue, in the vicinity of the | 20 | | Dyniewicz Park subdivision, was rededicated as St. Constance | 21 | | Church; late in 1916, property bounded by Strong Street, | 22 | | Ainslie Street, Marmora Avenue, and Menard Avenue was selected |
| | | HR1350 | - 2 - | LRB099 22226 GRL 49595 r |
|
| 1 | | as the site of the new Polish parish; work later commenced on a | 2 | | three-story church and school building at 5809 West Strong | 3 | | Street, which was dedicated on October 7, 1917 by Archbishop | 4 | | Mundelein; the School Sisters of Notre Dame were invited by | 5 | | Father Knitter to staff the parish school; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, St. Constance's modern church, designed by A.J. | 7 | | Del Bianco and Richard Donatoni, was completed in 1970; the | 8 | | bell tower was installed in 1980 and the wooden altar was | 9 | | installed by Jerzy Kenar in 1981; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, In 1974, the Maximilian Kolbe School of Polish | 11 | | Language was founded at St. Constance Church; the school has | 12 | | continued its ministry of instructing young Chicagoans in the | 13 | | Polish language into the present day; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, St. Constance Church remains a strong cultural | 15 | | center for the Polish diaspora in Chicago and much of the | 16 | | parish membership is Polish; confessions are still heard in | 17 | | Polish and liturgies held each Sunday are celebrated in both | 18 | | Polish and English; as the neighborhood has grown increasingly | 19 | | diverse, families of Italian, Irish, German, Filipino, and | 20 | | Latin American descent have joined this community of faith; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, The congregation of St. Constance Church serve as | 22 | | models of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people |
| | | HR1350 | - 3 - | LRB099 22226 GRL 49595 r |
|
| 1 | | of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 3 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 4 | | congratulate the congregation of St. Constance Church on the | 5 | | occasion of the church's 100th anniversary and wish them | 6 | | continued success and happiness in the future; and be it | 7 | | further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 | | presented to St. Constance Church as a symbol of our esteem and | 10 | | respect.
|
|