[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 49 (Monday, April 12, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E603-E604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CELEBRATION OF THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH OF 
                              SPRINGFIELD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RICHARD E. NEAL

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 12, 1999

  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this 
opportunity to recognize and celebrate an important milestone in the 
Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. For over one year now, the 
parish of St. Joseph's Church has been celebrating its 125th 
Anniversary. This celebration will be formalized with an Anniversary 
Mass on April 11, 1999 and will be attended by Bishop Thomas Dupre, 
Bishop Joseph Maguire, current and former parishioners, and the general 
public.

[[Page E604]]

  The importance of ethnically based parishes to the immigrants of the 
late 18th Century and early 19th Century cannot be overstated. Groups 
of people from European nations such as France, Ireland, Italy, and 
Poland made their way to the prosperous shores of America, only to be 
met with suspicion and discrimination. Laws and practices were 
instituted to make life more difficult for new immigrants. Their only 
recourse was to turn to those with whom they shared a heritage.
  The focal point for many of these communities was the Roman Catholic 
Church. The bonds of ethnicity and language were strengthened by bonds 
of faith. By fostering the language and traditions of the old country, 
these parishes gave new immigrants something familiar to hold onto in 
the strange new world in which they had landed. The church offered 
support, education, and contacts in the business community that the new 
immigrants would not have had otherwise. The children of the immigrants 
were taught English as well as their native language, allowing them to 
assimilate more easily into the society at large.
  Springfield, Massachusetts is blessed with a wide variety of ethnic 
groups, of which the Franco-American community is one. In 1873, the 
Reverend Louis Guillaume Gagnier, a 43-year-old missionary priest 
founded St. Joseph's Church in the Diocese of Springfield. From the 
masses held in parishioners' homes, to the basement of the church 
building, to the beautiful structure seen today, the mission of St. 
Joseph's, to faithfully serve its community, has remained the same. The 
church and the surrounding structures have seen hard times, but they 
have perservered. The widening of roads, explosions, hurricanes, and 
floods have rocked the buildings of St. Joseph's Church, but not the 
faith of its parishioners.
  During the first 100 years of St. Joseph's Church, Reverend Gagnier's 
mission was continued by Reverend Joseph Bissonnette, Reverend Arthur 
Cayer, Father Albert Aubertin, Father Romeo Rheaume, and Reverend 
Gerald Lafleur. Throughout all of their tenures, the Pastors were aided 
by the unyielding support of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and the 
Sisters of the Holy Cross. The Sisters opened and ran the parish 
school, thereby fostering a sense of religious and social community in 
the neighborhood.
  Mr. Speaker, historically, spiritually, and socially significant 
community centers such as Saint Joseph's Church need to be recognized 
and celebrated. Their contribution to the establishment of cities like 
Springfield cannot be measured. The effects of Saint Joseph's Church 
will be felt for many years to come in the Franco-American community 
and in the society at large. Mr. Speaker, the United States of America 
needs more positive social centers like Saint Joseph's Church and I 
hope that its members will continue their faithful service for at least 
another 125 years.

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