[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 10 (Thursday, January 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S557-S558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE GUEST CHAPLAIN

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, it is my honor to welcome Father Jim 
Trainor to the Senate this morning, but I think it was his honor to be 
escorted to the President's chair by one of the great men of the 
Senate, Senator Strom Thurmond. I am sure one of the things that Father 
Trainor will take from this experience is, not particularly the fact 
that he gets to see Senator Carper and me--he sees us all the time at 
home--but the fact he got to meet Strom Thurmond, the legendary Strom 
Thurmond.
  Mr. THURMOND. Thank you. That is kind of you.
  Mr. BIDEN. When Father Trainor put his hand out--Senator Thurmond was 
introduced to Father Trainor a moment before the prayer--he looked at 
Senator Thurmond and said: ``Senator, you are an inspiration.'' And you 
are an inspiration, Strom. You are an inspiration to all of us and you 
are a darned good friend of mine and I'm glad you got to meet my buddy, 
Father Jim Trainor.
  My colleagues do not know this, but Father Trainor prays for us every 
Sunday in Wilmington. I think he prays particularly hard for me because 
he is always making an extra prayer--maybe the Irish part of him--
praying for the politicians and public officials.
  I say to the majority leader, Senator Lott, I go to a church called 
Saint Joseph's on the Brandywine, an old church that was built by the 
Du Pont family for ``their Irish'' back at the turn of the century, the 
turn of the 19th century, the early 1800s.
  But my daughter and my wife like to go to Saint Patrick's Church, 
which is an inner-city church that, when I was a kid growing up, was in 
an Irish parish, and is now in the middle of the city and the parish is 
predominantly African American. It has become the haven for everyone in 
need in the city. Father Trainor has been there for about 25 years and 
has built and rebuilt that parish.

  There is a long series of steps to go up to the church. It is an old-
fashioned church where the actual church altar is on the second floor 
and below are all the meeting rooms. You walk up these two flights of 
stairs and occasionally--I know my colleagues will find this hard to 
believe--I am late.
  It is such an honor to be invited here and an honor to have an 
opportunity to invite someone here. As you all know,

[[Page S558]]

this invitation went out over 6 months ago, a long time ago.
  So I made the mistake of walking in a little bit late this Sunday 
evening for 5 o'clock mass. As I walked in the door, I knew I made a 
mistake. It was like being back in school. Father Trainor was up in the 
pulpit and I missed part of his sermon. He looked down to the 
congregation and he said: By the way, one other thing I want to tell 
you all. I want to tell you that I have had the great honor of being 
invited to open a session of the U.S. Senate this week. It came from 
the late Joe Biden--who just walked in the door. And then he proceeded 
to tell a story I hope he won't mind my telling.
  He was standing in front of the entire congregation last Sunday--and 
by the way, this congregation attracts most of its people not from the 
parish. They are young professionals who come from all over the city to 
come into that 5 o'clock mass at night because of Father Trainor. It is 
always packed. It is literally standing room only. The few of us who 
are occasionally late, we stand a lot.
  He told the following story: ``I want the congregation to pray for 
me,'' he said, ``because I hope I don't make the mistake I made the 
first time I was in Washington.''

       I was a young seminarian, in graduate school, and I came to 
     Baltimore to drop off my trunk early in the summer. I had a 
     good friend with me who was wheelchair bound. It was his car. 
     We decided to go visit Washington. The only thing I remember 
     in Washington is everything is steps, steps, steps, steps. I 
     was a pretty tough guy, and I would take that wheelchair and 
     move it up the stairs.

  He is going like this in the pulpit.

       So we went all over the city. We finished up at the 
     Capitol.

  That was before, thanks to Bob Dole and others, we had accessible 
entrances to our buildings in 1961 or 1962. I don't remember the exact 
year.
  He said:

       I got to the Capitol steps and I looked up and said, 
     ``Sweet Lord, I can't do that.'' I walked around the side. 
     There was a nice Capitol Policeman there. I said, ``You guys 
     have elevators here?'' He said, ``Sure, bring your friend 
     in.'' I brought my friend in, and the officer said, ``You can 
     use those elevators. You can use them. I am sure they won't 
     mind because of the circumstances.''

  Then two senatorial fellows got in the elevator and he said they both 
looked at him.
  He said:

       I didn't know what to say.

  I hope I am saying this accurately.
  He said:

       Senators, I am sorry we are in here, but the police officer 
     told us that because the other umbrella was broken, we could 
     take this umbrella to the second floor.

  He said:

       I hope I don't do that when I say my prayer this time.

  I told him a story. The first time I came here, I was a student at 
the University of Delaware. A number of my friends went to Georgetown, 
and I loved coming up here. On a Saturday morning, I came up. There was 
an unusual Saturday session which had just closed down.
  There were no metal detectors. A lot of you guys worked here as pages 
and had experience as staff. I walked through the double doors. The 
Senate had just gone out. I just walked in. The doors were open. I 
walked back by the Marble Room. No one was around. I opened the Chamber 
doors, and I was in awe. I think we all felt that the first time we 
ever stood in this Chamber. I was in awe. Literally, it took my breath 
away.
  I walked in, looked around, and I walked up and sat in the chair. I 
was not being a wise guy. I was in awe. I sat down in the President's 
chair, looking out, and all of a sudden this officer grabs me, spins me 
around, and stands me up. He scared the devil out of me, 
understandably. He knew what I was doing and arrested me.
  Most of you do not know that there is a police station downstairs 
underneath this building. He took me down. By the time we got down 
there, he realized I was just a college student in total awe of this 
place.
  I was elected to the Senate 10 years later. The first day I walked 
into the Senate Chamber, and a police officer tapped me on the 
shoulder. He said: Do you remember me, Senator?
  I said: No, I don't.
  He said: I arrested you 10 years ago when you came in.
  We both had inauspicious starts in the Senate. I say to you, Father, 
your prayer was right on target, and the finish was much stronger than 
the finish I have had. I thank you for being here.
  I conclude by saying it is genuinely an honor for the State of 
Delaware to have a Senate host Chaplain today. Reverend Ogilvie, I 
thank you. You are a consummate gentleman, and I appreciate the 
hospitality you offered to Father and always to all of us in the 
Senate.
  I note for the Record and say to my colleague from Delaware, Senator 
Carper, I only know of a total of three other Delawareans since I have 
been here who have ever been guest Chaplains. Senator Carper knows them 
all: Rabbi Kenneth S. Cohen from Congregation Beth Shalom was a guest 
Chaplain in 1982, and Father Robert Balducelli from St. Anthony's 
Parish. We need a little Irish levity brought into this. Now we have it 
all covered in my State. I thank you again, Father Trainor. I know the 
majority leader wishes to speak. After he does, I want to ask 
permission to yield to my colleague from Delaware for brief comments.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I have enjoyed the welcome speech from the 
Senator from Delaware, and I look forward to hearing from the other 
Senator from Delaware.
  Welcome, Father Trainor. We all welcome you. Thank you for being 
here. You and our Chaplain, Lloyd Ogilvie, mean a great deal, 
obviously, to the Senators from Delaware, but also to the spirit of our 
country. We thank you for being here this morning and being our guest 
Chaplain.

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