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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate the Belleville | ||||||
| 4 | Diocese on their 125th anniversary; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, The diocese honored its 125th anniversary by | ||||||
| 6 | initiating Fanning the Flame, a diocesan initiative based in | ||||||
| 7 | parishes and beyond to strengthen Catholics and those drawn to | ||||||
| 8 | the Catholic faith by exploring the richness of the faith and | ||||||
| 9 | responding to the Father's call to lifelong conversion of the | ||||||
| 10 | whole person to holiness and eternal life; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, The diocese of Belleville was erected by His | ||||||
| 12 | Holiness, Pope Leo XIII on January 7, 1887; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, The diocese of Belleville encompasses 28 counties | ||||||
| 14 | with 117 parishes and has a Catholic population of 83,689; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, There was a diocesan wide celebration through a | ||||||
| 16 | Mass of Thanksgiving, which took place on Sunday, April 29, | ||||||
| 17 | 2012 at the Cathedral of St. Peter; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, The Mass of Thanksgiving allowed everyone to | ||||||
| 19 | gather in the mother church of the diocese and give thanks to | ||||||
| 20 | God for the gift of the Catholic faith lived out each day by | ||||||
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| 1 | hundreds and thousands of faithful followers of Jesus Christ | ||||||
| 2 | for a century and a quarter and to allow an outstanding member | ||||||
| 3 | from each parish to be recognized; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Parish choirs came together for a Spirit-filled | ||||||
| 5 | festival of music, which included a full spectrum of church | ||||||
| 6 | music, sacred songs, and hymns presented by musicians across | ||||||
| 7 | the diocese; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Everyone in the diocese was invited to participate | ||||||
| 9 | in a renewed commitment to pray and work for vocations to the | ||||||
| 10 | priesthood and the religious life; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, A commemorative anniversary book has been edited | ||||||
| 12 | by Father Stanley J. Konieczny to celebrate the Christian faith | ||||||
| 13 | by sharing the faith stories of all 117 parishes in the diocese | ||||||
| 14 | through photographs, testimonies, and highlights of the | ||||||
| 15 | diocesan history; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Bishop Braxton invited all to join him in praying | ||||||
| 17 | the Anniversary Prayer: "May we approach our Year of Jubilee | ||||||
| 18 | with renewed faith. Please join me in praying for the | ||||||
| 19 | well-being of all the Christian faithful of our local church. | ||||||
| 20 | May we be blessed with an increase in vocations to the | ||||||
| 21 | priesthood, to the diaconate, to the religious life, and to lay | ||||||
| 22 | ecclesial ministry! May we imitate the firm faith of Saint | ||||||
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| 1 | Peter, the rock on which Jesus Christ built His church and | ||||||
| 2 | whose "Keys to Kingdom" grace our diocesan seal. May God grant | ||||||
| 3 | us a renewed dedication to the gospel of Jesus Christ. May we | ||||||
| 4 | all love one another and all people as Christ loves us."; | ||||||
| 5 | therefore, be it
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| 6 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 7 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 8 | we congratulate the Belleville Diocese on their 125h | ||||||
| 9 | anniversary and wish them all the best in the future; and be it | ||||||
| 10 | further
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| 11 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 12 | presented to the Belleville Diocese as a symbol of our respect | ||||||
| 13 | and esteem.
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