[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6015]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING HOUSE CHAPLAIN DANIEL P. COUGHLIN

  (Ms. PELOSI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues, earlier today in the House, a 
resolution was brought onto the floor honoring the 10 years that Father 
Coughlin has served us as the Chaplain of the House of Representatives.
  We recognize that 10 years ago under the leadership of then-Speaker 
Dennis Hastert, he reached back to Illinois and named a parish priest, 
Father Coughlin, as the Chaplain of the House of Representatives. For 
those of us who are Roman Catholic, it was an honor because it was the 
first time a Catholic was the Chaplain of the House.
  Five years after that, Father Coughlin took us to Rome for the 
funeral for Pope John Paul II, and in doing so, he was visiting Vatican 
City where he had participated in his priesthood. Before he came here, 
he was a parish priest. Before he came here, he had lived in a Trappist 
monastery in Kentucky and deepened his faith there. Before he came 
here, he had served the poor in Calcutta, India.
  My own patron saint of the City of San Francisco, as I said earlier, 
he used to say, Preach the gospel; sometimes use words. That is what 
Father Coughlin did. He preached the gospel by ministering to the needs 
of the poor following the message of the gospel, and he also then 
served as a parish priest and came here to this House of 
Representatives.
  In the meantime, last Sunday, as these two events converged--it's 
quite a coincidence--in Chicago, he was honored at a celebration of the 
50th anniversary of his becoming a priest. The 50th anniversary. We all 
know Father Coughlin as a modest man, but in a moment of immodesty he 
told me earlier that 35 priests concelebrated the mass, the celebration 
of his ordination.
  And there in the church to see was his mother, Lucille, 95 years old. 
Mr. Lipinski, the presenter of the resolution, was there as well, as 
well as Mr. Sensenbrenner and his wife, Cheryl. And I'm almost jealous 
of them for having that opportunity to be at that church to see that 
celebration, because every single day here we see his holiness, his 
goodness. We see him lead us in prayer at the beginning of the day 
under the engraving ``In God We Trust.'' When he is not presenting that 
inspiration to us, he has invited other faith leaders to present at the 
invitation of Members of Congress.
  But his goodness shines through. His inspiration to us is endless. 
The debt of gratitude that we have to him and to Lucille for what he 
has brought to us is endless. His service here has indeed been a 
blessing to this House of Representatives, and I am so pleased that we 
are all going to unanimously support the resolution honoring his 10 
years of service here and recognizing his 50 years as a priest.
  Thank you, Father Coughlin, for serving us so well.
  I am pleased to yield to Leader Boehner.
  Mr. BOEHNER. I thank the Speaker for yielding.
  Let me associate myself with the Speaker's remarks about Father 
Coughlin. He really is quite an individual, and he is there for all of 
us. And I think that over the 10 years that he has served us, he has 
done a really, really marvelous job, and I think all of the Members 
would agree.
  In the resolution that was on the floor earlier today celebrating his 
10 years of service to the House, it mentioned that he is in his 
seventies. Now, he looks pretty good for a guy in his seventies. Mr. 
Hoyer is jealous because he is in his seventies as well. I remember 
what it took to be ordained a priest back in Father Coughlin's era, and 
so I am sure he is beyond just 70, Mr. Hoyer, but I think he looks 
awfully good for a man in his seventies.
  I think all of us realize that while Father Coughlin is here to lead 
us in the opening prayer or to work with other ministers who come, he 
is also there for our spiritual guidance--days when we're sad and, 
frankly, days when we're happy.
  But to celebrate 50 years in the priesthood, that is 50 years of a 
lot of service to a lot of people. And on behalf of all of us, Father 
Coughlin, we thank you for your service and wish you a hearty 
congratulations.

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