[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 110 (Thursday, July 21, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1380-E1381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO THE SERVICE OF REVEREND ARTURO GOMEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 21, 2011

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask Congress to pay tribute to 
the spiritual leadership and service of Reverend Arturo Gomez. I want 
to extend my congratulations to Father Gomez on his retirement on July 
24, 2011, after over thirty years of priesthood.
  Father Gomez has served our community with humility and compassion. 
He will leave a legacy of service and spiritual leadership that most 
people can only hope to strive for. Father Gomez has touched the lives 
of many people. I want to thank him not only on behalf of our 
community, but as a parishioner, for his service to the Congregation of 
St. Catherine of Siena Parish, in union with the diocese of San 
Bernardino.
  Father Gomez's parents and faith in God have helped shape him into 
the man he has become today. Family has always been a central part of 
Father Gomez's life. He has said that after Jesus and Mary, his 
greatest role models of goodness are his parents. They are his heroes. 
His father, Auerliano, immigrated to the United States from Jalpa, 
Zacatecas, Mexico, and met his mother, Petra, in Santa Paula, 
California. Father Gomez is the third oldest of the twelve children the 
couple raised.
  Father Gomez has lived a life of service to others. After graduating 
at the top of his high school class, he joined the United States army 
because he was grateful to God and his country for the aid his family 
received. Father Arturo trained and served as a medic in Europe. Once 
he returned home he continued to practice nursing to support his 
widowed mother and eight younger siblings. Father Arturo waited to 
enter religious life until the last of his siblings completed high 
school.
  His diligence and steady faith allowed him to earn a Bachelor's 
degree followed by two Master's degrees. He was ordained into 
Priesthood on August 23, 1980. Father Gomez entered religious life at 
the age of thirty and will retire after over thirty years of humble 
service. Heeding the commandment, love thy neighbor, he has tirelessly 
advocated on behalf of members of his parish facing deportation.

[[Page E1381]]

  Father Gomez is a beloved guide and Shepherd to our community. From 
performing the last rights, to ministering to his flock, he is there to 
offer a helping hand and his prayers along the way. He has served our 
community with unwavering faith in the good of humankind. On behalf of 
my wife, Barbara, and my children, Councilman Joe Baca Jr., Jeremy, 
Natalie, and Jennifer, we would like to congratulate Father Gomez for 
his leadership, service, and guidance. We will miss him and his special 
blessing that he bestowed to me and my family. May the Lord continue to 
grant him wisdom and watch over him.

                          ____________________