[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 5, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S1311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       EL PASO DIOCESE CENTENNIAL

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I wish to recognize the centennial 
anniversary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso, which took place 
on March 3, 2014.
  For nearly 400 years, the Catholic Church has served the needs of 
people in the El Paso area, beginning with the arrival of Franciscan 
missionaries in the late 1600s. By the time Pope Pius X founded the 
Diocese of El Paso on March 3, 1914, the Church had established a 
network of parochial schools and private sanatoriums to treat 
tuberculosis patients. The ministries, parishes, and schools were 
founded with a desire to share Catholic life and give witness to 
Christ. Today, under the leadership of its 6th bishop, Mark J. Seitz, 
the Diocese includes 64 parishes and missions, 11 schools, and a 
seminary that serve more than 600,000 Catholics.
  I invite my colleagues to join me in celebrating the Diocese's legacy 
of service and faith in El Paso. I ask God's continued blessing on the 
leaders and members of the Diocese as they carry on their good work in 
providing health care, education, and spiritual care to the people of 
West Texas.

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