[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 159 (Thursday, November 11, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2376]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   TRIBUTE TO FATHER PIO OLIVA GOTTIN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 10, 1999

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I was saddened to learn 
yesterday of the death of Padre Pio Oliva Gottin. Nho Padre Pio, as he 
was known to many, was a pastor of St. Patrick's Church in Roxbury, 
Massachusetts, and was one of the most respected and dedicated leaders 
of the Cape Verdean Community both in the United States and in the 
Republic of Cape Verde. A native of Italy, and a missionary of the 
Order of Capuchins, he devoted his pastorate and life to responding to 
the needs of the community, and he was an important spokesman and 
advocate of the Cape Verdean-American and Cape Verdean immigrant people 
living in the Northeast, and in particular, Massachusetts. As a Member 
of the U.S. Congress, with the proud honor of representing one of the 
largest Cape Verdean-American constituencies in the United States, it 
is with great sadness that I join his family, friends, the members of 
his congregation, and the entire Cape Verdean Community both here and 
abroad in remembering and paying tribute to Padre Pio for his decades 
of valuable contributions to the spiritual and cultural life of the 
Cape Verdean people from around the world. Mr. Speaker, I ask that the 
statement by the Prime Minister of Cape Verde, Dr. Carlos Alberto 
Wahnon Veiga, on the death of Padre Pio Oliva Gottin, be printed in 
translated form.

    TRANSLATION--OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, GOVERNMENT COMMUNIQUE

       The People and Government of Cape Verde learned with 
     profound sadness and regret of the death, yesterday 
     afternoon, of FATHER PIO, a missionary with eminent qualities 
     and a great friend of Cape Verde and particularly of the 
     Brava Island and its people.
       The Catholic Church and the People of Cape Verde lost a man 
     of great stature, a friend and protector of the poor.
       FATHER PIO, a native of Italy, came to Cape Verde as a 
     young missionary from the Capuchin Order doing his work 
     mostly in the Brava island where he gained much respect and 
     admiration.
       In the process, on that island, ``Nino Padri'', as he was 
     affectionately called, tirelessly sought to respond to the 
     needs of the disenfranchised by creating conditions for self-
     improvement and social integration through education and 
     training.
       This is how the ``Escola Materna de Nova Sintra'', founded 
     by Father Pio, has assumed such an important role in numerous 
     professional arenas such as carpentry, secretarial and others 
     which today still have a relevant role in the Braven 
     Community.
       Even though he resided in the United States in the last few 
     years, he continued his missionary work with the Cape Verdean 
     community for whom FATHER PIO continued to be a point of 
     reference.
       In this moment of pain, the Government of Cape Verde 
     expresses its profound sorrow for the irreplaceable loss of a 
     man who became Cape Verdean to better serve his high ethical 
     and spiritual ideals.
       OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, PRAIA NOVEMBER 8, 1999.

       

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