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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to recognize the service of His Eminence,
4Francis Eugene Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop Emeritus of
5Chicago upon his retirement as Archbishop of Chicago; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Cardinal George was born in Chicago on January 16,
71937 to Francis J. and Julia R. (nee McCarthy) George; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Cardinal George attended St. Pascal School on
9Chicago's Northwest Side; he attended St. Henry Preparatory
10Seminary in Belleville and entered the Missionary Oblates of
11Mary Immaculate in August of 1957; he earned his bachelor's
12degree in theology from the University of Ottawa and was
13ordained a priest in December of 1963 by Most Reverend Raymond
14Hillinger at his boyhood parish of St. Pascal in Chicago; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Cardinal George earned several postgraduate
16degrees; he received a master's degree in philosophy from The
17Catholic University of America in 1965, a doctorate in American
18philosophy from Tulane University in 1970, a master's degree in
19theology from the University of Ottawa in 1971, and a Doctorate
20of Sacred Theology in ecclesiology from the Pontifical
21Urbaniana University in Rome in 1988; he taught at Our Lady of
22the Lake University, Gonzaga University, the Oblate Seminary in

 

 

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1Pass Christian, Mississippi, Tulane University, and Creighton
2University; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Cardinal George served the church in a number of
4roles, including pontifical councils and commissions; in 1974,
5he was elected vicar general of the Missionary Oblates of Mary
6Immaculate, serving in Rome and traveling to missions in some
7of the poorest regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America; from
81973 to 1974, he served as Provincial Superior of the
9Midwestern Province for the Oblates and, from 1987 to 1990, as
10coordinator of the Circle of Fellows for the Cambridge Center
11for the Study of Faith and Culture; beginning in 2007, he
12served a 3-year term as President of the United States
13Conference of Catholic Bishops; from 1990 to 2008, he served as
14Episcopal Moderator and as a member of the board of the
15National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities, now the
16National Catholic Partnership on Disability, bringing his
17personal experience to the position after a 5-month bout with
18polio at the age of 13 left him with permanent damage to his
19legs; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Following his appointment by Pope Saint John Paul
21II, Cardinal George was ordained and installed in September of
221990 as the fifth Bishop of Yakima in Washington state, serving
23for over 5 years; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Following his appointment by Pope Saint John Paul
2II, Cardinal George was installed in May of 1996 as the ninth
3Archbishop of Portland; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Following the passing of Cardinal Joseph
5Bernardin on May 7, 1997, Cardinal George was installed as the
6eighth Archbishop of Chicago, becoming the first native
7Chicagoan to serve as Archbishop of Chicago, serving more than
82.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties; when
9delivering his homily during his installation Mass, he drew
10upon his hometown roots, noting that Chicago is a city of
11neighborhoods, and asked the people to think of him as
12"Francis, your neighbor"; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Pope Saint John Paul II announced Cardinal
14George's elevation to the Sacred College of Cardinals and he
15was created a Cardinal Priest during consistory on February 21,
161998; and
 
17    WHEREAS, After serving over 17 years as Archbishop,
18Cardinal George presided over his final Mass at Holy Name
19Cathedral on November 16, 2014, becoming the first Cardinal to
20retire as Archbishop of Chicago; and
 
21    WHEREAS, On December 10, 2014, Cardinal George received the
22Medal of Merit, the City of Chicago's highest honor; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Cardinal George has fought as an advocate for the
2poor and the vulnerable, pushing for legislative reform to
3strengthen the rights of Illinois' Latino community and
4battling racism; therefore, be it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
7thank His Eminence, Francis Eugene Cardinal George, OMI,
8Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago for his years of service to the
9people of Chicago, Cook County, the State of Illinois, and the
10Archdiocese of Chicago; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12presented to Cardinal George, Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago,
13as an expression of our respect, esteem, and best wishes.