[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10607]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRIESTHOOD OF BISHOP JOSEPH MADERA, 
                                M.SP.S.

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2007

  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the service and 
devotion Bishop Joseph J. Madera has bestowed to the community on the 
event of his 50th anniversary of priesthood.
  Bishop Madera was born in San Francisco on November 27, 1927. He was 
raised in Mexico and received his priesthood at the Holy Spirit 
Missionaries House of Studies in Coyoacan, Mexico City, on June 15, 
1957. Upon his ordination, Madera assisted in the minor seminary of the 
Holy Spirit Missionaries. After his work at the seminary, he was 
assigned to parish work in Mexico and soon after he was sent to the 
United States to serve in California.
  His service in the Diocese of Fresno has made Bishop Madera a legacy 
in the community. On March 4, 1980, Bishop Hugh Donohue retired and 
Madera, who was serving as an appointed coadjutor bishop, was 
consecrated a bishop and was named Bishop of Fresno. During his tenure 
with the Diocese of Fresno, Bishop Madera founded the KNXT television 
station. He had his Sunday Mass in English, which was broadcast 
throughout the entire country and to Latin America.
  Bishop Madera has an extensive resume, having served in the 
Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Diocese of Fresno serving the 
communities of Fowler and Del Rey, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in 
Oxnard, and as an assistant pastor at Christ the King Parish. In 
addition to his responsibilities to the church, Bishop Madera actively 
oversaw the pastoral care of 24 labor camps in Ventura County, lectured 
at the Camarillo Seminary of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, and hosted 
radio broadcast programs both at the local and international levels. He 
was also instrumental in the construction of the second part Our Lady 
of Guadalupe School in Oxnard, CA, as well as the rectory and the 
church.
  In recognition of his years of commitment to the Catholic Church, 
Bishop Madera had the distinctive honor of receiving his ordination as 
auxiliary bishop for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military 
Services by the late Pope John Paul II in 1991. In this post, Bishop 
Madera was responsible for the pastoral care of 2 million Catholic men 
and women serving in the U.S. military and their families, the 
residents of the Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, and the 
civilian employees of the U.S. Government living abroad.
  Bishop Madera's work and outreach efforts are highly commendable. He 
has left the communities in which he has served a better place because 
of the sincerity and generosity of his services and faith. Through his 
post on the Archdiocese for Military Services, he reached out to 
provide comfort and guidance to Americans domestically and overseas. 
Even though he is now retired, his advocacy and commitment to service 
carries on as he currently volunteers to assist the Bishop serving the 
Sacramento area in California. For all these reasons, it is without 
doubt an honor to recognize him today as Bishop Joseph Madera continues 
to touch the lives of many people, leaving his mark of good will across 
the world.

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