[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 31287]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 31287]]

             75TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST. LUCY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 18, 1999

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, December 5, 1999, the community of 
St. Lucy's Catholic Church, will gather to celebrate their 75th 
Anniversary. I rise today to honor St. Lucy's on this special occasion 
and pay tribute to their service to the community.
  Like many other immigrant communities, Croatian immigrants came to 
the metro-Detroit area because of the promise of jobs and opportunities 
in lumber, mining and the automobile industry. After their arrival, 
they realized that a central component of their former life--the 
community church--was missing. They regained this sense of community 
when Father Oskar Suster was given permission by Bishop Michael 
Gallagher to form a new Catholic parish to serve the Croatian ethnic 
community. In 1924 they purchased their first building at the corner of 
Melbourne and Oakland Avenues in Detroit.
  Following in the name of their patron saint, St. Lucy's Catholic 
Croatian Church has spent the last 75 years serving as a radiant light 
in the Croatian community. The Church, now located in Troy, Michigan, 
includes the sons and daughters of those original immigrants as well as 
many new arriving families. I have enjoyed participating in some of 
their activities and seeing firsthand the pride parishioners have in 
their Church and the sense of community it represents. I have also 
enjoyed the opportunity to participate in the community's discussions 
on issues of special concern, especially those touching on events 
transpiring in the Balkans.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating St. 
Lucy's Croatian Church on the occassion of their 75th anniversary and 
wishing them many more years of important service to their community.

                          ____________________