[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 7, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E846]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMEMORATING THE 130TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BASILICA OF ST. MICHAEL THE 
                    ARCHANGEL IN PENSACOLA, FLORIDA

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 7, 2016

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 130th 
anniversary of the historic Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel in 
Pensacola, Florida.
  The Catholic presence in Pensacola traces back more than 450 years 
ago, upon the first settlement under the command of Don Tristan de Luna 
y Arellano in 1559. Following a series of military conflicts to occupy 
or maintain settlements in Pensacola and hurricanes that devastated the 
Gulf Coast, under the command of General Bernardo de Galvez in 1781, 
the Spanish defeated the British and recaptured Pensacola. It was in 
May of that year that Father Cyril de Barcelona blessed an old wooden 
two story warehouse on the waterfront for a church to establish a 
parish of St. Michael the Archangel, and on June 6, 1886, present-day 
St. Michael Church in downtown Pensacola was formally dedicated by 
Bishop Jeremiah O'Sullivan of Mobile, Alabama.
  With a red brick exterior and Florida pine interior, the church 
became adorned with life-like Stations of the Cross, memorials bearing 
the names of pioneer Catholic families and eventually 24 breathtaking 
stained glass windows, 23 of which were recently restored, that were 
designed and created by world renowned artist Emil Frei.
  St. Michael Church, whose mission is to ``Proclaim Christ and to 
Encounter Him in Word, Sacrament and Service,'' grew to be an intrinsic 
treasure to the Northwest Florida community with its historical 
significance and architectural beauty and was elevated to minor 
basilica status on December 28, 2011 by his Holiness, Pope Benedict 
XVI.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to commemorate the 130th anniversary 
of the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel of Pensacola and its 
parish's more than 235 years of faithful service to God and to the 
Northwest Florida community. Vicki and I thank them for their 
dedication and pray for their continued success. May God grant the 
parishioners of St. Michael's many more years to come and may His 
blessings continue to shine down on them.

                          ____________________