H.R. No. 431
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Basilian Fathers of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish
concluded nearly seven decades of exceptional service to the
Rosenberg community on June 26, 2005; and
WHEREAS, Founded in France, the Congregation of St. Basil
expanded to Canada in the 1850s; Basilian Fathers extended their
work to Texas in 1899 and in time became the largest religious order
of priests in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston; and
WHEREAS, While the Basilians have traditionally devoted
their efforts primarily to education, they also administer parishes
and conduct missionary work; in the mid-1930s, the Basilian Fathers
adopted an apostolate to work with the Hispanic population of South
Texas; and
WHEREAS, Father Joseph P. Dillon agreed to lead this mission
endeavor and was assigned all the western counties in the Galveston
diocese; practical considerations, however, caused him to confine
his work to an area about 150 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico,
where growing numbers of Latinos were settling; Hispanic residents
in that area, many of whom did not speak English, greeted the
Basilian initiative with great thanksgiving; and
WHEREAS, Father Dillon held his first mass in Rosenberg on
September 26, 1936, in Zaragoza Hall; in addition to his pastoral
efforts in that community, he traveled a circuit that eventually
included nine towns, together with a number of smaller communities
and area ranches; following Basilian tradition, he regularly
visited individual families, taking care on those occasions to
determine their needs and, especially, to seek out the sick; and
WHEREAS, On May 25, 1938, Bishop Christopher Byrne granted
Father Dillon's request for permission to build a mission church in
Rosenberg; Father Dillon and Father Thomas O'Rourke found property
with a house, garage, chicken coop, and 15 fruit trees that was
being offered at $3,500, and on February 21, 1939, a sales contract
for the land was concluded and $100 put down as a deposit; and
WHEREAS, Construction on the church began the following year,
on January 18, with 75 volunteers and one paid worker; many of those
donating their labor would walk a number of miles to get to the
building site; in April 1940, Bishop Byrne journeyed to Rosenberg
to bless the church and to preside over confirmations; and
WHEREAS, Using Our Lady of Guadalupe as their base, the
Basilian Fathers established a number of other churches in Fort
Bend and Brazoria Counties; in addition to Rosenberg, they were
active in Angleton, Sugar Land, Missouri City, Manvel, Richmond,
Wharton, Bay City, and Freeport; and
WHEREAS, On September 21, 1942, Father Dillon opened Our Lady
of Guadalupe School, which was operated by the Sisters of Divine
Providence; the school began with 214 students in grades one
through four and eventually encompassed grades one through eight;
it remained in existence until 1963; and
WHEREAS, Father John F. Collins, who served as mission
director from 1948 to 1969, established Our Lady of Guadalupe
Clinic in 1951 to provide free medical care to members of the
community; directed for many years by Sister Mary Walter Gutowski,
who also served as a midwife, the clinic was staffed by doctors on a
pro bono basis; it was located in a 10-room frame building until
1972, when it moved into a brick structure and the Scanlan
Foundation took over its financial support; and
WHEREAS, While maintained by the church, this clinic helped
the poorest of its clients to secure such basic items as clothing
and furniture; today, the Pastoral Center of Our Lady of Guadalupe
supports a range of social ministry programs that address community
needs for food, shelter, clothing, and education, as well as
spiritual nourishment; and
WHEREAS, The 1950s also witnessed the arrival of sisters
affiliated with the Catechists of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary of
Tlalpan, Mexico, a community that continues to serve Our Lady of
Guadalupe; and
WHEREAS, Other milestones in the history of the church
include the introduction of the graduation mass by Father Max
Murphy in 1960, the elevation of Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission to a
parish by John Louis Morkovsky, the coadjutor bishop, in 1966, the
formation of the first parish council under the guidance of Father
Enrique Bravo in 1974, and the dedication of the Family Life Center
by Bishop Morkovsky in 1979; in 1986, during the pastorate of Father
John Boscoe, Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrated its 50th anniversary;
and
WHEREAS, Because early congregants had little money to give
to the church, they held bazaars as fund-raisers, donating
chickens, hogs, and corn; by 1976 the parish bazaar had grown to
such an extent that Father Bravo moved it to the Fort Bend County
Fair Grounds; Auxiliary Bishop James A. Tamayo celebrated the
annual bazaar mass there in 1993; and
WHEREAS, In recent decades, several deacons have greatly
assisted the work of this parish; Deacon David Mitchell was
ordained and assigned to the church in 1981, Deacon Enrique G.
Avila, who served as permanent deacon, was ordained under Father
James F. Blocher in 2003, and Deacon Danny Naranjo was assigned to
the parish in 2004; and
WHEREAS, Over the years, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church has
been blessed with the dedicated efforts of a number of fine priests;
the roster of those who have served and nurtured the congregation
includes Fathers Joseph P. Dillon, Vincent J. Fullerton, Thomas
O'Rourke, John F. Collins, Leo Adams, Jaime Mitchell Abercrombie,
John Sheehan Broussard, Michael Miller, Arthur McCarthy, Raphael
O'Laughlin, Raymond Jackson, Robert Hall, Ronald Alexander Borg,
John Leonard Boscoe, Enrique Bravo, James Francis Blocher, Wilfred
Steidel Canning, William Edmund Coughlin, Richard Jeffery, Francis
Joseph Launtric, Charles E. Lynch, William Leslie May, Max Murphy,
Wilfred Murphy, Bernard Charles Owens, Maurice Louis Pierce,
Bernard John Pinsonneault, Norbert Reuss, Robert Gerard Ritz,
Joseph Paul Shannon, Wencil C. Pavlovsky, and Jay Walsh; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the history of this venerable parish, the
Basilian Fathers have exemplified the motto of their order, "Teach
me goodness, discipline, and knowledge"; these steadfast shepherds
have offered spiritual guidance and sustenance while ministering in
other vital ways to the needs of their congregants, and their work
has brought profound comfort, joy, and hope to countless
individuals; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas
Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby honor the Basilian Fathers
for their immeasurable contributions to the members of Our Lady of
Guadalupe Parish and that they be extended deep appreciation for
the example of service and the legacy of good works that they have
bequeathed to the community of Rosenberg; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the Basilian Fathers as an expression of high regard by
the Texas House of Representatives.
Olivo
Craddick Geren Menendez
Allen of Harris Giddings Merritt
Allen of Dallas Gonzales Miller
Alonzo Gonzalez Toureilles Moreno of Harris
Anchia Goodman Moreno of El Paso
Anderson Goolsby Morrison
Bailey Griggs Mowery
Baxter Grusendorf Naishtat
Berman Guillen Nixon
Blake Haggerty Noriega
Bohac Hamilton Oliveira
Bonnen Hamric Olivo
Branch Hardcastle Orr
Brown of Kaufman Harper-Brown Otto
Brown of Brazos Hartnett Paxton
Burnam Hegar Pena
Callegari Herrero Phillips
Campbell Hilderbran Pickett
Casteel Hill Pitts
Castro Hochberg Puente
Chavez Hodge Quintanilla
Chisum Homer Raymond
Coleman Hope Reyna
Cook of Navarro Hopson Riddle
Cook of Colorado Howard Ritter
Corte Hughes Rodriguez
Crabb Hunter Rose
Crownover Hupp Seaman
Davis of Harris Isett Smith of Tarrant
Davis of Dallas Jackson Smith of Harris
Dawson Jones of Lubbock Smithee
Delisi Jones of Dallas Solis
Denny Keel Solomons
Deshotel Keffer of Dallas Strama
Driver Keffer of Eastland Straus
Dukes King of Parker Swinford
Dunnam King of Zavala Talton
Dutton Kolkhorst Taylor
Edwards Krusee Thompson
Eiland Kuempel Truitt
Eissler Laney Turner
Elkins Laubenberg Uresti
Escobar Leibowitz Van Arsdale
Farabee Luna Veasey
Farrar Madden Villarreal
Flores Martinez Vo
Flynn Martinez Fischer West
Frost McCall Wong
Gallego McClendon Woolley
Gattis McReynolds Zedler
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 431 was adopted by the House on July
19, 2005, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House