[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21443]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING MSGR. JOHN ``JED'' PATRICK ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM ST. 
                            MICHAEL'S PARISH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 10, 2009

  Mr. STUPAK. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Monsignor John ``Jed'' 
Patrick, or ``Father Jed'' as his parishioners know him, on his 
retirement from St. Michael's Parish in Marquette, Michigan. During his 
41 years of ministry in the Diocese of Marquette, Father Jed served 
both his parish and his community with dedication, sharing his life and 
his church with open arms.
  A native of Ironwood, Michigan, Father Jed served parishes in 
Marquette, Escanaba, Trenary, Palmer, Gladstone, Big Bay, and my 
hometown of Menominee. He became pastor at St. Michael's in 1995, 
serving there 14 years before his retirement.
  Father Jed attended St. Lawrence Minor Seminary in Mt. Calvary, 
Wisconsin and St. Francis Major Seminary in Milwaukee. He went on to 
study in Rome, until he was ordained a priest on December 21, 1967 by 
Bishop Francis Reh at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. His first 
assignment after ordination was to the very parish he retired from--St. 
Michael's Parish in Marquette.
  At St. Michael's, Father Jed served as director of vocations and 
Vicar General. He also was responsible for the Catholic Campus Ministry 
at Northern Michigan University. In 1999, Pope John Paul II bestowed 
the title of Prelate of Honor to His Holiness on Father Jed, allowing 
him to be addressed as Monsignor.
  Father Jed is a friend, and I have seen first-hand his deep 
commitment to his parishioners, his dioceses, and to the Upper 
Peninsula. The Marquette Diocese is rich in history, rich in faith and 
rich in the Lord's spirit and Father Jed upheld each of these 
traditions to the fullest extent throughout his 41 years of service.
  Father Jed now plans to catch up on reading, work in his yard and 
around his home and travel to places both far and near to the Upper 
Peninsula. But even in retirement he continues to spread the Word of 
the Lord, taking on weekend assignments in churches throughout the 
area.
  Madam Speaker, it was at St. Michael's in Marquette that Father Jed 
first stepped into the priesthood, and it was at St. Michael's that he 
stepped down after his decades of service to parishioners throughout 
the Upper Peninsula. His work and his ministry have touched the lives 
of many, including myself, and have become an important part of the 
history of the Diocese of Marquette. He has shown dedication to the 
Roman Catholic Church and devotion to the Lord. And so I ask, Madam 
Speaker, that you and the entire U.S. House of Representatives join me 
in honoring Monsignor John ``Jed'' Patrick on his retirement from St. 
Michael's Parish in Marquette.