Full Text of HR1364 99th General Assembly
HR1364 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate the congregation of St. | 4 | | John the Baptist Catholic Church in Piopolis on the occasion of | 5 | | the church's 175th anniversary in 2016; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The rich history of St. John The Baptist Catholic | 7 | | Church began in 1841, when 25 pioneers left Ersingen, Germany | 8 | | for the New World; they arrived in what is now Piopolis on | 9 | | August 21, 1841; in 1843, additional setters came from Germany, | 10 | | including Tobias Brummer, and the congregation's first Mass and | 11 | | Baptism were performed by Fr. Elisha Durbin in a log cabin; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, In 1844, a 40-acre tract of land was bought by | 13 | | Cajetan Aydt and later deeded to Bishop William Quarters, the | 14 | | Catholic Bishop of Chicago; in 1846, the first log church was | 15 | | completed and St. John's first Mass was celebrated on Ash | 16 | | Wednesday; in 1860, a new frame church was completed and Bishop | 17 | | Juncker of Alton came for Confirmation; in 1864, the parish's | 18 | | rectory was completed and Fr. Edward Harriman began serving as | 19 | | Pastor; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, In 1865, St. John's second resident pastor, Fr. | 21 | | Winterhalter, was installed and the Precious Blood Sisters of | 22 | | Burwell, Germany located their new convent at the church; in |
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| 1 | | 1870, a two-story Motherhouse and school frame building was | 2 | | completed and nine nuns from Gurtwell, Germany arrived; in | 3 | | 1871, the third pastor, Fr. John Neuhaus, was installed; in | 4 | | 1876, Fr. John N. Enzilberger became the fourth resident | 5 | | pastor; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, In 1877, 13 acres of church property were laid out | 7 | | into 50 lots to become a small village named Piopolis in honor | 8 | | of Pope Pius IX, who was celebrating his 50th year as Bishop; | 9 | | in 1880, the foundation was laid for a new church after the | 10 | | frame church was moved aside; in 1881, the cornerstore of the | 11 | | brick church was laid; the church was completed by the end of | 12 | | 1882 and was dedicated on October 1, 1884; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, In 1892, a new rectory was built at St. John's; in | 14 | | 1902, Fr. Bernard Reusch was installed as the fifth resident | 15 | | pastor; in 1910, new altars were installed in the first brick | 16 | | church; in 1914, a new two-story sisters house was built on the | 17 | | grounds of the church's present day rectory; in 1924, the | 18 | | church's present school building was completed and dedicated by | 19 | | Bishop Henry Althoff; in 1927, Fr. Eckerman started the St. | 20 | | John's Annual Picnic; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, On June 13, 1953, a severe storm damaged St. | 22 | | John's brick church, which had to be torn down and replaced; in | 23 | | 1954, the cornerstone of the second brick church was laid in |
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| 1 | | March and construction was completed and the building's first | 2 | | Mass held on Christmas Day; in 1955, Fr. Eckerman became ill | 3 | | and was replaced with Fr. Edmund Schumacher as administrator; | 4 | | after Fr. Eckerman's death in 1962, Fr. Schumacher became the | 5 | | seventh pastor of the parish; in 1965, Fr. Schumacher passed | 6 | | away and Fr. Meinrad Dunn was assigned as the eighth pastor in | 7 | | October; in 1972, Fr. Dunn left the church and was succeeded by | 8 | | Fr. Albert Jerome; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, In 1975, St. John's Parish Council was | 10 | | established, with various organizations being represented; in | 11 | | 1976, Fr. Jerome was transferred and Fr. James Van Oss was | 12 | | installed as the 10th pastor of the parish; in 1981, the Parish | 13 | | Council voted to redecorate the church and the Ministers of the | 14 | | Eucharist was created; on July 6, 1982, Fr. Emil Maziarz was | 15 | | installed as the 11th pastor; in 1983, Fr. Maziarz was assigned | 16 | | to the Chancery Office and Fr. Joseph A. Lawler became the 12th | 17 | | pastor of the church; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, In 1991, St. John's celebrated the church's | 19 | | Sesquicentennial of the Parish with various activities | 20 | | including a photo directory, a history of the parish, a | 21 | | re-enactment of the arrival of the first immigrants to | 22 | | Piopolis, and other observances; in 1993, The Holy Name | 23 | | Shooting Match was held in October and a Mission was held in | 24 | | November; on April 19, 1996, a tornado hit the church, causing |
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| 1 | | over $100,000 in damages; new roofs were placed on the garage, | 2 | | house, school, and one-half of the church; in 2002, an outdoor | 3 | | pavilion and new vesting cabinetry were installed; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, St. John's hosted the Farm Blessing on April 26, | 5 | | 2007; on May 22, 2009, Fr. Slawomir Ptak of Poland became the | 6 | | church's Associate Pastor; following Fr. Joseph Lawler's | 7 | | retirement on July 12, 2011, Fr. Ptak became the 13th pastor of | 8 | | the parish; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, The congregation of St. John's serve as models of | 10 | | hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the | 11 | | State of Illinois; therefore, be it
| 12 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 13 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 14 | | congratulate the congregation of St. John the Baptist Catholic | 15 | | Church on the occasion of the church's 175th anniversary and | 16 | | wish them continued success and happiness in the future; and be | 17 | | it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | presented to the congregation of St. John the Baptist Catholic | 20 | | Church as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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