[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 25, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E463-E464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


          ON THE PASSING OF FATHER ORESTE PANDOLA OF BALTIMORE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 25, 1998

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a truly great 
pastor and great person, Father Oreste ``Rusty'' Pandola, who has been 
chosen to receive the Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr. Award for 1998. This 
award is named for my late father, who served as a long time Mayor of 
Baltimore and as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. It is 
presented annually by the Little Italy Lodge to an individual who has 
made an outstanding contribution to Baltimore's Italian-American 
community.
  Just a few days before his untimely death on January 17th, 1997, Rev. 
Oreste Pandola, SAC, known to everyone in St. Leo's as ``Father 
Rusty,'' was asked what he would like inscribed on his tombstone. 
Always ready with a witty reply, he answered, ``Well, I put an elevator 
in the church and another one in the school. How about, `Going up!' '' 
With that, he laughed heartily and made his familiar thumbs-up sign.
  Although he had been suffering a constant battle against the 
debilitating effects of diabetes, little did anyone realize how soon 
afterward, those words would come to fruition. Father Rusty was only 54 
when he died of a heart attack. He had been pastor of St. Leo's for 
eight years. One parishioner summed up his leadership by saying, ``He 
affected the parish unlike anyone we've had in the past. His open 
friendship, his demeanor, his confidence. He could get people to do 
things for the church.''
  He was a priest who saw the needs of his community beyond the 
religious aspects, although he certainly was a wonderful shepherd of 
his flock. He never let personal health problems get in the way of his 
pastoral duties. After injuring his shoulder in a fall while attending 
a meeting in New Jersey, he celebrated Mass with his left arm in a 
sling.
  Father Rusty enjoyed life, Italian food--especially pasta--and cream 
donuts, laughed loud at a good joke--even at his own expense--and was 
not afraid to try new things such as para-sailing.
  One of his major achievements was the renovation and subsequent re-
opening of the church school, closed in 1980, as an adult learning 
center. A man of vision, he saw a building wasting away and he saw many 
of the more senior residents of the Little Italy community with idle 
time and idle minds. He gave birth to the Adult Learning Center, which 
today bears his name and is in its third year and growing.
  Father Rusty had a reputation of being involved in activities and 
interests that went beyond his duties as pastor. He was compassionate, 
understanding and optimistic. To him, no task was to great. Being happy 
all the time and being positive in his assessment of things

[[Page E464]]

seemed to be natural qualities. ``Piece of cake,'' he would say to 
someone who felt that a task was too great. ``Hang in there.''
  Born and raised in New York, he was ordained a priest in the 
Pallotines of the Immaculate Conception Province in Brooklyn, NY in 
1969, seven years after entering the order. He served as chaplain and 
teacher of religion at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in Pensauken, 
NJ, in 1969. Father Rusty came to Baltimore in the 1970's, serving as 
vocation director and novice master for his order. He also was the 
director of the Pallotine Seminary in Hyattsville, MD, and he also 
served for a time as a Provincial Superior of the Pallotine Fathers.
  Cardinal William Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore, called him ``a 
truly great pastoral leader. He spoke to the people in a way which was 
at once witty and humorous and also quite profound.'' Reflecting on his 
avid reading, the Cardinal added, ``If I had to name one person who was 
knowledgeable about the Bible, who was in tune with today's current 
problems and was compassionate, it was Father Rusty.''
  Rev. Peter Sticco, SAC, the Pallotine Provincial at the time, told 
the mourners in his eulogy, ``He was your pastor, he was your hero, he 
was your friend.''
  The Rev. Oreste Pandola, SAC, is a worthy recipient and exemplifies 
the great spirit of Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr. in whose name this award is 
presented.

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