[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 4, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF EL 
                                  PASO

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BETO O'ROURKE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 4, 2014

  Mr. O'ROURKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Catholic 
Diocese of El Paso as they celebrate their 100 year anniversary.
  El Paso and the Catholic Church have shared a long history. The El 
Paso region was settled by Franciscan missionaries in the 1600s. Since 
then, the Catholic Church has contributed to El Paso in many important 
ways. From the founding of the first hospital in El Paso, Hotel Dieu; 
to building the Ysleta Mission, the oldest continuously operating 
church in the State of Texas; to installing the first Hispanic bishop 
in the nation, Bishop Patrick Flores installed in 1978.
  The current Diocese serves more than 680,000 Catholics in and around 
El Paso. As champions of the poor and the vulnerable, the Diocese of El 
Paso operates one of the largest legal aid clinics in the southwest and 
provides health care and education to thousands in my community. It has 
also welcomed and given shelter to migrants and refugees from Mexico 
and around the world.
  The Diocese of El Paso has been of the El Paso community for one 
hundred years. I invite my colleagues to recognize their history of 
service as they embark on their next century.

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