[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 143 (Thursday, November 2, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN HONOR OF THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS

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                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 2, 2000

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the Franciscan 
Friars. The Franciscan Friars of the Santa Barbara Province have been 
compassionately responding to the needs of San Franciscans since 1887. 
It is my pleasure to honor them for their tremendous contributions on 
the Fiftieth Anniversary of one of their most successful projects, the 
St. Anthony Foundation.
  The Franciscan Friars improve our city through their work at St. 
Boniface Church. For years, they have been feeding the poor and 
homeless and caring for those in need. In particular, the Friars have 
ministered to the immigrant communities of San Francisco's Tenderloin 
District, first with the German community and expanding more recently 
to the Hispanic, Vietnamese and Filipino communities.
  The St. Anthony Foundation was founded by Franciscan Friar Alfred 
Boeddeker, while pastor of St. Boniface Church, to ``feed, clothe, heal 
and shelter the needy, empower the powerless, and promote a social 
order in which all persons flourish.'' Today, the Foundation serves an 
extraordinary number of people with their drug rehabilitation, food, 
health, housing, and other social service programs. The Franciscan 
Friars have provided the spirit, vision, and direction for the St. 
Anthony Foundation to complete 50 years of service to the most 
marginalized in our community.
  The Franciscan Friars and the St. Anthony Foundation make San 
Francisco a better place. Their selfless dedication to those in need 
calls us to a higher standard. It is my honor to commend them on fifty 
years of service through the St. Anthony Foundation.

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