[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 18, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THANK YOU, FATHER DONALD LOUIS SHIRODA

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                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 18, 1997

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me to bring to the 
attention of the House of Representatives and the American public the 
retirement of a man who many residents of Michigan's Upper Peninsula 
think of as one of God's greatest blessings. Father Donald Louis 
Shiroda will retire from the priesthood at the end of this month after 
37 years of dedicated service to the people and the communities of the 
Upper Peninsula.
  After high school, Father Shiroda served his country in the U.S. 
Marine Corps, where he made the decision to become a Catholic priest. 
In 1950, he began seminary in Kitchner, Ontario at St. Jerome's, moving 
to Milwaukee's St. Francis Seminary 2 years later to study philosophy 
and finishing his theological training at St. John's in Plymouth in 
1959. Father Shiroda then began his career as a priest serving as 
assistant pastor for St. Gregory Church in Newberry, MI.
  Father Don has served numerous parishes and communities throughout 
the Upper Peninsula, subsequently administering to St. Thomas in 
Escanaba, St. Agnes in Iron River, St. Albert the Great in Houghton, 
Marquette's St. Christopher, Calumet's St. Paul the Apostle, Immaculate 
Conception in Iron Mountain, and the Sacred Heart Parish in L'Anse. In 
1986, Father Shiroda was appointed pastor of St. Joseph Church in Sault 
Ste. Marie. He has been an example and leader of faith, human kindness, 
and the active living of God's love in the Sault area for the last 11 
years. The people of the Sault have had the opportunity to know Father 
Shiroda's talents in many settings. Along with his service as Dean of 
the Sault Ste. Marie Deanery and Episcopal Vicar of the Eastern Region, 
he has also held terms as Sacramental Minister to Catholic Campus 
Ministry at Lake Superior State University and regularly performs mass 
at the Hiawatha Correctional Facility.
  As Father Don recently stated about his community, ``I love the 
people of the Sault, not only the Catholics, but everyone. I have just 
as many non-Catholic friends as I do Catholic. I'm a people person. I 
also greatly enjoy my work with children and working up in long-term 
care. I really enjoy those people. I wasn't any place longer than 5 
years until I came here.'' The people of the Sault, and all across the 
Upper Peninsula love and enjoy Father Shiroda and it will be with a 
heavy heart that they witness the end of his distinguished pastoral 
career.
  Father Don's last Sunday Mass will be said June 29, 1997, 37 years 
and 3 weeks after his first Mass was held in Newberry. Fortunately, he 
will not be saying goodbye to the area, but plans on continuing his 
ministry. ``I'm going to reside in the Sault and help where help is 
needed,'' he has said. ``People of the Sault are all people of God 
regardless of their denomination.''
  Mr. Speaker, Father Don Shiroda truly has been a blessing for the 
people of the Upper Peninsula and the Sault Ste. Marie area. As a 
practicing Catholic, I know the importance and value of priestly 
leadership and direction. Father Don is an example to all of us, 
Catholic and non-Catholic, because of his compassion and concern for 
the community and the people who surround him. Not only is he a 
spiritual model, but also a model American citizen and for this he 
deserves our recognition and praise.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all the residents of Michigan's First 
Congressional District, I would like to extend my heartfelt 
congratulations to Father Donald Louis Shiroda on his retirement, thank 
him for his dedicated service, and wish him well in his endeavors yet 
to come.




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