[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 106 (Thursday, July 18, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 DIOCESE OF GAYLORD SILVER ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 18, 1996

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention to 
this House and the entire Nation the 25th anniversary of the Roman 
Catholic Diocese of Gaylord, MI. His Holiness, Pope Paul VI, 
established the Gaylord Diocese on July 20, 1971. On July 21, 1996 a 
special liturgical celebration will be held at the Cathedral of St. 
Mary Our Lady of Mount Carmel to commemorate the establishment of this 
diocese.
  The Diocese of Gaylord was created from the separation of territories 
originally part of the Saginaw and Grand Rapids Dioceses. The new 
diocese covered 21 of the most beautiful counties in northern Michigan. 
In 1971 the diocese had a total population of 288,556 and a Roman 
Catholic population of 66,000. At the age of 43, Edmund Szoka from the 
Diocese of Marquette became the youngest bishop in the Nation. With 83 
parishes under his charge, Bishop Szoka embraced the motto ``To Live in 
Faith.'' Through many hours of hard work and cooperation with the 
residing priests and congregations Bishop Szoka was able to bring the 
separate parishes together in love, prayer and community. Bishop Szoka 
stayed with the Diocese of Gaylord for 10 years. In 1981 he left the 
area for new assignments. When asked about the silver anniversary, 
Edmund Szoka, now a cardinal, said that even though he left 15 years 
ago ``a great part of [his] heart remains and always will remain in the 
Diocese of Gaylord.''
  When Cardinal Szoka left the Diocese he was replaced by Bishop Robert 
Rose. Bishop Rose served the diocese for 8 years before moving south to 
the Grand Rapids' Diocese. The current bishop, Patrick Cooney, was 
installed in the Diocese of Gaylord as the third bishop on January 28, 
1990. The oldest child of a very religious family, Bishop Cooney has 
spent his life learning the way of and serving the Lord. Bishop Cooney 
attended the Sacred Heart Seminary College of Detroit and the Gregorian 
University in Rome, studying philosophy and theology. After returning 
to Detroit from Rome Bishop Cooney decided to pursue his love for 
liturgy and entered the University of Notre Dame to pursue a graduate 
degree in liturgical research.
  Under Bishop Cooney's care, the diocese has grown stronger through 
the hard work and dedication of the priests, nuns, secretariats, and 
most importantly, the lay members. We see the formation of the first 
Diocesan Pastoral Council in 1993 as an example of this dedication. 
Made up of clergy, religious, lay men and women from all over the 
Diocese, the council meets with the Bishop several times a year to 
discuss issues affecting the Church. Today the Diocese of Gaylord has 
grown to include 87,000 Roman Catholics, 75 priests, and 82 parishes. 
On October 5, 1996, the Fifth Annual Diocesan Conference will be held 
with the theme ``Remember and Re-membering'' to discuss ways to 
strengthen the church by involving members who have slipped away and by 
introducing the church to new members. Following the conference there 
will be a youth rally. The goal of the rally, at which 350 teens are 
expected, is to strengthen the membership of a younger generation to 
keep the church strong in the future.
  On July 21, 1996, the Diocesan Liturgical Celebration will be held at 
St. Mary Cathedral in Gaylord. Among those attending will be Cardinal 
Szoka and Bishop Rose, the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to the United States, 
Agostino Cacciavillan, Cardinal Adam Maida of the Archdiocese of 
Detroit, a number of bishops and priests from Michigan and Ohio and 
nearly 2,000 members from the 82 parishes invited.
  Mr. Speaker, the last 25 years have been a time for growth and 
discovery for the Diocese of Gaylord. The clergy and congregations of 
the 82 parishes in northern Michigan have come together to make this 
new diocese a place of prayer, hope, and faith. The diocese has come to 
be a community in which love and fellowship is witnessed on a daily 
basis. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Catholic community and the entire 
Nation, I would like to congratulate the Diocese of Gaylord on 25 
glorious years.

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