[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 26, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
               IN RECOGNITION OF CARL AND FRANCINE DEMMA

  (Mr. LIPINSKI asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an outstanding 
labor of love and faith in my district.
  Carl Demma of Oak Lawn had a vision nearly 20 years ago of expressing 
his Catholic faith by creating a larger-than-life statue of the Virgin 
Mary. His goal was to encourage people to reflect on their religious 
faith at the beginning of the new millennium. Mr. Demma's vision was 
realized in a 33-foot-tall statue of the Virgin Mary. Our Lady of the 
New Millennium was blessed by Pope John Paul II in 1998, and, since 
that time, hundreds of thousands of the faithful have been able to view 
the statue.
  Since Carl passed on in 2000, his beloved wife Francine has dedicated 
her time and energy to ensuring that the statue continues to be 
transported from parish to parish for all the faithful to experience.
  Mr. Speaker, I applaud Mr. and Mrs. Demma for their dedication and 
their many years of service to the community.

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