[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 50 (Wednesday, April 29, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S3796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




ST. ANTHONY'S PARISH CELEBRATES THE BEGINNING OF ITS SEVENTY-FIFTH YEAR 
                    IN SERVICE TO GOD AND COMMUNITY

 Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, on a hill in the western section of 
my hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, stands St. Anthony's Roman 
Catholic Church, a beautiful and imposing masterpiece of architecture 
and a testimonial to the power of faith that dominates the skyline. 
Founded in 1924, St. Anthony's Parish has been a major force in the 
religious, social, and cultural life in Wilmington for four 
generations. In addition to the magnificent church, the parish has 
built St. Anthony's Grade School, an elementary school, and Padua 
Academy, a fine high school for young women. In addition, there is 
Fournier Hall, a center for the social and recreational needs of the 
community; The Antonian--an apartment complex built to ensure that the 
neighborhood's senior citizens have access to quality, affordable 
housing; and the Father Roberto Balducelli Community Center, which 
provides day care for the community's children and daily activities for 
their grandparents and great-grandparents. And every June, St. 
Anthony's Festival draws tens of thousands of Delawareans and people 
from across the country for a week of good food, good fun, and a 
celebration of God's blessings. For three-quarters of a century, the 
good people of St. Anthony's Parish--both clergy and parishioners--have 
looked to the needs of the entire community, and joined together to 
meet those needs. The entire Greater Wilmington area has benefitted 
from their efforts. They truly have earned a special place in our lives 
and the life of our city.
  As St. Anthony's Parish begins the year-long celebration of its 
seventy-fifth year, they have chosen to kick off that celebration 
Thursday evening, April 30, with a dinner and Mass of Thanksgiving, in 
which they will honor three of the pillars of the parish, three 
individuals who have labored long and hard over many years to build St. 
Anthony's into the vital part of community life that it has become; 
Father Mario Bugliosi, Brother Michael Rosenello, and Father Roberto 
Balducelli.
  Father Mario came to Wilmington for the first time in 1954, as a 
teacher at Salesianum High School, a premier Catholic high school. 
After spending five years at Salesianum and a year at a high school in 
Philadelphia, Father Mario returned to Wilmington in 1960 as an 
Associate Pastor at St. Anthony's and, except for a two-year hiatus in 
his native Italy, has been doing the Lord's work among us ever since. 
His kind, gentle manner and complete decency--always there with a 
supportive word for everyone--has made him the parish's chief 
``Confessor''--the man you go to in times of crisis (spiritual or 
otherwise), at times when you are in need of advice and counsel, and at 
times when you simply need someone to listen. He personifies the notion 
that ``to minister'' need not refer only to great and glorious words 
from the pulpit, but to a quiet moment over a cup of coffee, a shared 
walk along the street, or to a visit to the home of someone in 
spiritual need.
  Brother Mike--there are folks in the parish who refer to him as ``Mr. 
Padua'' for his yeoman like work at the school--also first came to St. 
Anthony's in 1954 as a Pastoral Assistant and the Director of Youth 
Ministry. After a short absence in the 1960's, he returned to the 
parish in 1966 as the Director of Parish Maintenance, where he has 
overseen virtually every aspect of life at the school, starting with 
the construction of the new school building beginning in 1967. He 
developed the girls' athletic programs at the school and coached 
basketball himself for many years. He has organized and directed many 
of St. Anthony's most successful social events over the years and 
decorated the church for all of its major feasts and celebrations. And 
perhaps most importantly to the students at Padua, he has overseen the 
operations of the school's cafeteria, ensuring that lunch time is both 
delicious and nutritious as well as a time for catching up with 
friends. He is one of those fellows who is always there when the parish 
or the parishioners need a fresh idea, an organizer, or a pair of hands 
used to hard work.

  For fifty-two years, first as a teacher and Associate Pastor, then 
for twenty-nine years as pastor, and for the past ten years as the 
parish's ``Senior Statesman'', Father Roberto Balducelli--``Father 
Robert'' to everyone in Wilmington--has been the man who makes things 
happen. He is responsible for the building of St. Anthony's Grammar 
School, the Parish House and Rectory, the Padua Academy, and the 
Antonian. He was the founder of the community center which now bears 
his name, and initiated the St. Anthony's festival, which has become 
one of the premier social events for families of all faiths in the 
Wilmington area. He is a living legend, known and respected by 
Delawareans who have never set foot in his church but who share his 
love for our city and its people, and yet for all of his success in 
working with the leaders of Delaware industry, commerce, and 
government, he has never left the working-class community to which he 
came from Italy a half-century ago. Twenty years ago, he was chosen by 
Delaware's largest newspaper, The News Journal as one of ten 
outstanding Delawareans--and he has been building upon that legacy for 
two decades since. Since his ``retirement'' in 1988, he has continued 
his efforts to develop recreational facilities for young people 
bringing youngsters from the city out into the country to enjoy the 
outdoors and share in the spirituality and enjoyment of God's natural 
creations. Those efforts would tax the energy of a dozen people half 
his age, but for Father Robert, it is simply a continuation of his 
tireless energy on behalf of his flock. He is truly one of Delaware's 
living treasures.
  These three individuals, plus the thousands of parishioners and staff 
who have worked so hard with them over the years, epitomize the old 
idea that a church is a vital part of the community, not just on 
Sundays, but every day in many ways to everyone in the community. Their 
spirit is the spirit that has sustained St. Anthony's parish for 
seventy-five years, and hopefully will sustain the parish and its 
parishioners for many years to come.
  I am honored to have the opportunity to salute that spirit and 
commend St. Anthony's Parish as they embark upon their seventy-fifth 
year doing God's work in Wilmington.

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