LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 100th Anniversary of St. Louis
Gonzaga Church of Utica, New York, to be celebrated October 23-24, 2010

WHEREAS, Religious institutions, and the many spiritual, social and
educational benefits they confer, play a vital role in the development
of the moral fabric of a responsible citizenry; and
WHEREAS, It is the tradition of this State and this Nation to pay
tribute to those institutions and individuals who have contributed to
the ethical and spiritual values of their communities; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body takes pleasure in commemorating the
100th Anniversary of St. Louis Gonzaga Church of Utica, New York, to be
celebrated October 23-24, 2010; and
WHEREAS, In the year 1900, one of the many groups that made up the
Utica ethnic mosaic were about 100 Lebanese-Americans; by 1907, there
were several hundred, and under the pastorate of the beloved Reverend
Louis Lotaif, they celebrated the Maronite-Catholic service in the grot-
to of St. John's Church; and
WHEREAS, By 1910, the Saint Louis of Gonzaga Church, named after the
pastor and the Italian saint, designed by a John Hobbes and built by a
Sal Rizzo, was dedicated by Monsignor J.S. M. Lynch of St. John's on the
corner of Elizabeth and Albany Streets, where it still stands; and
WHEREAS, There was a dormitory upstairs of the church to temporarily
house the immigrant men who came alone to America during the last years
of the Ottoman oppression; and
WHEREAS, By 1933, the church was vastly overcrowded, and Monsignor
Francis Lahoud, planned a new church at the corner of Rutger Street and
Conkling Avenue, in part designed and built by the pastor himself in the
middle of the Depression years; and
WHEREAS, The building is a magnificent edifice, crowned by the
stained-glass windows done by the famous Henry Keck Studio in Syracuse;
Monsignor Lahoud built by hand the marble side-altars in the church, and
some years later, the church rectory; a bust in wood of the 19th century
Maronite Saint Charbel, done by the late Henry DiSpirito of Utica, is
located at the back of the church; and
WHEREAS, St. Louis Gonzaga Church stands on the threshold of tomorrow,
prepared to meet the challenges of the coming decades while retaining
that spiritual resolve which characterizes its past; and
WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to take note of
enduring religious institutions and to bring such institutions to the
attention of the people of this Empire State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 100th Anniversary of St. Louis Gonzaga Church of Utica,
New York, to be observed October 23-24, 2010, fully confident that this
commemoration reflects the belief in those values which enhance the
dignity and purpose of life; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to St. Louis Gonzaga Church, Utica, New York.