H.R. No. 185

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The Texas House of Representatives is proud to honor the Most Reverend Rene Henry Gracida, Bishop of Corpus Christi, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the Episcopacy; and

WHEREAS, Before he received his calling, this New Orleans native enjoyed professional careers both as an instructor at the University of Houston School of Architecture and as an architect with the firm of Donald Barthelma and Associates; and

WHEREAS, He was drawn to become a Benedictine in 1951 because of his love of the liturgy, and after completing his religious training at Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1959; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Gracida has been well regarded throughout the Catholic Church for his utmost devotion to the Lord, and he was consecrated as bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami before he was installed as first bishop of the PensacolaTallahassee Diocese in 1975; and

WHEREAS, For more than 13 years, he has faithfully served the people of South Texas as fifth bishop of Corpus Christi, in which capacity he has offered special strength and wisdom to countless individuals; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Gracida has distinguished himself through his active ministry, writing 10 pastoral letters during his Episcopacy and further serving the Lord and his community through his involvement in several worthy causes; deeply committed to immigration and migration issues, he was the National Episcopal Promoter of the Apostleship of the Sea in the United States for 17 years and also chaired many church conferences on migration; and

WHEREAS, This respected clergyman has strongly supported the concerns of migrant farm workers as well, traveling to the sugar beet fields of Nebraska and Wyoming to celebrate the sacraments, bless their families and the crops, and sometimes even weed rows of vegetables; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Gracida's commitment further extends to religious education issues; he is a staunch supporter of Catholic schools and religious education programs for children and adults, and he was instrumental in the creation of the Pastoral Institute in the diocese in 1984; and

WHEREAS, In Bishop Gracida, the church has found both a preacher and a stalwart friend for the work of the ministry; his religious guidance has provided comfort and spiritual support to countless individuals, and he is indeed worthy of our highest praise and recognition as he celebrates 25 years of service to the Episcopacy; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas Legislature hereby honor the Most Reverend Rene Henry Gracida, Bishop of Corpus Christi, and extend to him warmest best wishes on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the Episcopacy; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Bishop Gracida as an expression of highest regard by the Texas House of Representatives.

Berlanga

Laney
Alexander
Allen
Alvarado
Averitt
Bailey
Berlanga
Bonnen
Bosse
Brimer
Burnam
Carter
Chavez
Chisum
Christian
Clark
Coleman
Cook
Corte
Counts
Crabb
Craddick
Cuellar
Culberson
Danburg
Davila
Davis
Delisi
Denny
Driver
Dukes
Dunnam
Dutton
Edwards
Ehrhardt
Eiland
Elkins
Farrar
Finnell
Flores
Gallego
Galloway
Garcia
Giddings
Glaze
Goodman
Goolsby
Gray
Greenberg
Grusendorf / Gutierrez
Haggerty
Hamric
Hartnett
Hawley
Heflin
Hernandez
Hightower
Hilbert
Hilderbran
Hill
Hinojosa
Hirschi
Hochberg
Hodge
Holzheauser
Horn
Howard
Hunter
Hupp
Isett
Jackson
Janek
Jones of Lubbock
Jones of Dallas
Junell
Kamel
Keel
Keffer
King
Krusee
Kubiak
Kuempel
Lewis of Tarrant
Lewis of Orange
Longoria
Luna
McCall
McClendon
McReynolds
Madden
Marchant
Maxey
Merritt
Moffat
Moreno
Mowery
Naishtat
Nixon
Oakley / Oliveira
Olivo
Palmer
Patterson
Pickett
Pitts
Place
Price
Puente
Rabuck
Ramsay
Rangel
Raymond
Reyna of Bexar
Reyna of Dallas
Rhodes
Rodriguez
Roman
Sadler
Seaman
Serna
Shields
Siebert
Smith
Smithee
Solis
Solomons
Staples
Stiles
Swinford
Talton
Telford
Thompson
Tillery
Torres
Turner of Coleman
Turner of Harris
Uher
Van de Putte
Walker
West
Williams
Williamson
Wilson
Wise
Wohlgemuth
Wolens
Woolley
Yarbrough
Zbranek

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Speaker of the House

I certify that H.R. No. 185 was adopted by the House on February 19, 1997, by a nonrecord vote.

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Chief Clerk of the House