[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 29 (Thursday, March 14, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRATULATING SAINT PATRICK ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN EAST CHICAGO, 
                                INDIANA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 14, 2002

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct pleasure to 
congratulate Saint Patrick Roman Catholic Church in East Chicago, 
Indiana, as it celebrates its 100th anniversary as a congregation, on 
March 17, 2002, the Feast Day of St. Patrick. The anniversary 
celebration will begin with an afternoon Mass celebrated by Bishop Dale 
J. Melczek. Following the Mass, the parishioners will enjoy an evening 
filled with entertainment and dancing as they observe this milestone in 
the church's history.
  Nestled among the smokestacks of the steel mills in the Indiana 
Harbor, St. Patrick Church has risen from its humble beginnings to 
serve as a cornerstone of the East Chicago community. Founded in 1902, 
the parish of St. Patrick was the first Roman Catholic Church 
established in the Indiana Harbor. Under the guidance of Father Thomas 
Mungoven, eight families met for Sunday Mass in Klein Hall on Michigan 
Avenue. With the strength of their faith to bolster their spirits, this 
small congregation constructed a church of their own. On January 25, 
1903, the parish of St. Patrick celebrated its first Mass in its new 
home. By 1909, the parish grew to include 87 families from mostly Irish 
and Slavic backgrounds.
  Over the years, as other ethnic groups were drawn to the area by the 
opportunities offered in the steel mills, the composition of East 
Chicago grew more diverse. Irish and Slavic families now welcomed 
Hispanic and African-American Catholics into the congregation. In 1986, 
in an effort to involve new parishioners in Sunday services, Father 
John Ambre instituted Masses in Spanish.
  As the parish mission statement attests, the members ``strive to be a 
welcoming community celebrating our cultural diversity; foster harmony 
and reconciliation among parishioners and the community . . . .'' 
Embracing the Christian ideals of loving thy brothers and sisters and 
honoring they neighbors, the parishioners have opened the doors of St. 
Patrick to those in need of a spiritual home. When other ethnic 
parishes in East Chicago closed, St. Patrick welcomed these Catholics 
with open arms. In 1987, when St. Francis of Assisi Parish closed, St. 
Patrick installed the cornerstone of this church in its vestibule 
walls, a symbolic gesture affirming the acceptance of these new members 
into the church community. Again, when Assumption of the Blessed Virgin 
Mary Parish closed in 1998, rather than allowing the church to fade 
from the memories of its former parishioners, St. Patrick added the 
altar to its own sanctuary. St. Patrick represents more than a building 
where worshippers meet once a week for a service; it truly embodies the 
tenets of the faith it espouses.
  Since 1997, the current pastor, Father Fernando de Cristobal, has 
used his position as a spiritual leader to promote various cultural 
activities in order to better educate the entire congregation. For the 
Feast of Our Lady of Guadelupe, a holy day revered in Mexico, the 
celebration includes Las Mananitas, or morning songs, offered to the 
Virgin Mary and mariachi music, followed by a midnight Mass. On June 
24th, the parish honors Saint John the Baptist, the patron saint of 
Puerto Rico, with a bilingual mass and a banquet. Keeping with this 
spirit of diversity, the centennial celebration will feature Irish 
dancers and bagpipes in an effort to pay tribute to the parish's Irish 
heritage.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my other distinguished colleagues to join 
me today in commending the parish family of St. Patrick Church, under 
the guidance of Father Fernando de Cristobal, as they prepare to 
celebrate the 100th Anniversary of their founding. All past and present 
parishioners and pastors should be proud of the numerous contributions 
they have made out of the love and the devotion they have displayed for 
their church.

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