R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, The Texas House of Representatives is proud to honor 1-2 the Most Reverend Rene Henry Gracida, Bishop of Corpus Christi, on 1-3 the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the 1-4 Episcopacy; and 1-5 WHEREAS, Before he received his calling, this New Orleans 1-6 native enjoyed professional careers both as an instructor at the 1-7 University of Houston School of Architecture and as an architect 1-8 with the firm of Donald Barthelma and Associates; and 1-9 WHEREAS, He was drawn to become a Benedictine in 1951 because 1-10 of his love of the liturgy, and after completing his religious 1-11 training at Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, he 1-12 was ordained to the priesthood in 1959; and 1-13 WHEREAS, Bishop Gracida has been well regarded throughout 1-14 the Catholic Church for his utmost devotion to the Lord, and he was 1-15 consecrated as bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami before he was 1-16 installed as first bishop of the Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese in 1-17 1975; and 1-18 WHEREAS, For more than 13 years, he has faithfully served the 1-19 people of South Texas as fifth bishop of Corpus Christi, in which 1-20 capacity he has offered special strength and wisdom to countless 1-21 individuals; and 1-22 WHEREAS, Bishop Gracida has distinguished himself through his 1-23 active ministry, writing 10 pastoral letters during his Episcopacy 1-24 and further serving the Lord and his community through his 2-1 involvement in several worthy causes; deeply committed to 2-2 immigration and migration issues, he was the National Episcopal 2-3 Promoter of the Apostleship of the Sea in the United States for 17 2-4 years and also chaired many church conferences on migration; and 2-5 WHEREAS, This respected clergyman has strongly supported the 2-6 concerns of migrant farm workers as well, traveling to the sugar 2-7 beet fields of Nebraska and Wyoming to celebrate the sacraments, 2-8 bless their families and the crops, and sometimes even weed rows of 2-9 vegetables; and 2-10 WHEREAS, Bishop Gracida's commitment further extends to 2-11 religious education issues; he is a staunch supporter of Catholic 2-12 schools and religious education programs for children and adults, 2-13 and he was instrumental in the creation of the Pastoral Institute 2-14 in the diocese in 1984; and 2-15 WHEREAS, In Bishop Gracida, the church has found both a 2-16 preacher and a stalwart friend for the work of the ministry; his 2-17 religious guidance has provided comfort and spiritual support to 2-18 countless individuals, and he is indeed worthy of our highest 2-19 praise and recognition as he celebrates 25 years of service to the 2-20 Episcopacy; now, therefore, be it 2-21 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas 2-22 Legislature hereby honor the Most Reverend Rene Henry Gracida, 2-23 Bishop of Corpus Christi, and extend to him warmest best wishes on 2-24 the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the 2-25 Episcopacy; and, be it further 2-26 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 2-27 prepared for Bishop Gracida as an expression of highest regard by 3-1 the Texas House of Representatives. Berlanga Laney Gutierrez Oliveira Alexander Haggerty Olivo Allen Hamric Palmer Alvarado Hartnett Patterson Averitt Hawley Pickett Bailey Heflin Pitts Berlanga Hernandez Place Bonnen Hightower Price Bosse Hilbert Puente Brimer Hilderbran Rabuck Burnam Hill Ramsay Carter Hinojosa Rangel Chavez Hirschi Raymond Chisum Hochberg Reyna of Bexar Christian Hodge Reyna of Dallas Clark Holzheauser Rhodes Coleman Horn Rodriguez Cook Howard Roman Corte Hunter Sadler Counts Hupp Seaman Crabb Isett Serna Craddick Jackson Shields Cuellar Janek Siebert Culberson Jones of Lubbock Smith Danburg Jones of Dallas Smithee Davila Junell Solis Davis Kamel Solomons Delisi Keel Staples Denny Keffer Stiles Driver King Swinford Dukes Krusee Talton Dunnam Kubiak Telford Dutton Kuempel Thompson Edwards Lewis of Tarrant Tillery Ehrhardt Lewis of Orange Torres Eiland Longoria Turner of Coleman Elkins Luna Turner of Harris Farrar McCall Uher Finnell McClendon Van de Putte Flores McReynolds Walker Gallego Madden West Galloway Marchant Williams Garcia Maxey Williamson Giddings Merritt Wilson Glaze Moffat Wise Goodman Moreno Wohlgemuth Goolsby Mowery Wolens Gray Naishtat Woolley Greenberg Nixon Yarbrough Grusendorf Oakley Zbranek _______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 185 was adopted by the House on February 19, 1997, by a non-record vote. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House