[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 117 (Monday, September 19, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1888]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE REVEREND PHILIP CASCIA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 19, 2005

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to join the many friends, congregation members, and community leaders 
that have gathered to pay tribute to an outstanding religious leader 
and my good friend, Father Philip Cascia. Today marks the end of an era 
at St. Anthony's as we bid farewell to a real community treasure. There 
is no doubt that Father Cascia has touched the lives of every member of 
the St. Anthony's parish. Though he will be missed, the legacy he 
leaves will continue to inspire others for years to come.
  Father Cascia's commitment to service through religious leadership 
has been unwavering and his involvement, not only with his 
congregation, but with the entire Prospect community has been essential 
to its spiritual growth and prosperity. One of his first acts after his 
ordination in 1977 was the establishment of a St. Vincent dePaul 
Society in Waterbury. Just a year later, the St. Vincent DePaul Thrift 
Store opened which was followed in later years by a mental health 
center, a soup kitchen as well as a homeless shelter--the soup kitchen 
and homeless shelter have become the largest in Connecticut.
  Father Cascia has been a strong leader not only in our community, but 
in communities across the world. A 1988 trip to the Soviet Union as the 
coach of the wrestling team at Sacred Heart High School led to the 
establishment of the Waterbuey-Leningrad Intersport Trade commission--a 
program which arranges exchanges between sports teams in the United 
States and other countries including China, Vietnam and Brazil. Most 
recently the Intersport exchange program is hoping to send soccer teams 
to San Paolo, Brazil, where Father Cascia is overseeing the opening of 
an orphanage and school. In addition to the Intersport program, for the 
last two decades Father Cascia, at the request of the United States 
Department of State, has also been helping youths in St. Petersburg, 
Russia. In 1991, he opened an orphanage for victms of the country's 
terrible earthquakes, and upon his return, Father Cascia and his parish 
have been sending much needed supplies to them ever since.
  Father Cascia is a man of God--but so, too, is he a man of the 
people. And he understands that the Church is not simply comprised of 
people. He understands that the Church is the people--the People of 
God. He knows that it is the parishioners who support the Church and 
keep it running--who run its charity events and bake sales--that it is 
their stories and their lives that infuse the Church with moral 
authority. There is no better example of living faith with commitment 
and dignity.
  Father Cascia's unparalleled leadership has allowed Saint Anthony's 
to flourish. Our churches, as much as they are distinct, all provide 
innumerable contributions to our communities. He has become a fixture 
in our community and we owe him a great debt of gratitude for all of 
his good work and for enriching all of our lives. As a spiritual guide, 
he has nourished the souls of many--often providing much needed comfort 
in the hardest of personal trials. We cannot thank him enough for the 
indelible mark he has left on this community. For his outstanding 
leadership and his many years of special friendship, I am proud to join 
with the Prospect community in wishing Father Cascia well as he leaves 
Saint Anthony's. May God bless him and keep him well as he continues in 
his mission of peace, compassion, and most importantly, hope.

                          ____________________