Bill Text: DE SCR32 | 2013-2014 | 147th General Assembly | Draft

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Bill Title: Celebrating The Exemplary Life And Ministry Of Father Roberto Balducelli Of St. Anthony Of Padua Parish As He Approaches The 100th Anniversary Of His Birth On August 11, 1913.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-07-01 - Passed in House by Voice Vote [SCR32 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2013-SCR32-Draft.html

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SPONSOR:	Sen. McDowell & Rep. Brady & Rep. Keeley
	Sens. Marshall, Henry, Peterson, Cloutier; Reps. Bolden, Mitchell, Potter

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

147th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 32

CELEBRATING THE EXEMPLARY LIFE AND MINISTRY OF FATHER ROBERTO BALDUCELLI OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA PARISH AS HE APPROACHES THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH ON AUGUST 11, 1913.

WHEREAS, the Reverend Roberto Balducelli of Wilmington's St. Anthony of Padua Parish will celebrate the 100^th Anniversary of his birth in Italy; and

WHEREAS, "Father Roberto," as the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales priest is known to generations of parishioners at St. Anthony's, and countless other friends and admirers; felt a calling to the priesthood early in life, and at age 16 was a scholar at Collegio Murialdo in Albano Laziale in Rome when he was discovered by the Rev. Father J. Francis Tucker, an Oblate priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, who had been appointed several years earlier by the then Bishop of Wilmington as "pastor of the Italian people" of the city; and

WHEREAS, according to a story recently recounted in an article by Nicole Dobo in the Wilmington News-Journal, Father Tucker was desperately in need of an Italian-born Oblate to serve this community and, when he found Roberto peeling potatoes, urged him to hurry up and complete his preparation for the priesthood; and

WHEREAS, in the spring of 1946 the young priest traveled to America aboard the S.S. Notre Dame, arriving in New York City on April 9 of that year and then made his way to Wilmington, where he has been engaged in ministry ever since; and

WHEREAS, upon his arrival, the present St. Anthony's Church building did not yet exist; and one of his early tasks was to become a builder, an art and a skill which, in one form or another, he has been pursuing ever since; and

WHEREAS, according to Ms. Dobo's article, "Though he loves art and was educated in Rome, he has the hands of a laborer, as a fingernail missing on one hand attests," and further, "He was among the workmen undertaking the tedious task of carefully securing millions of mosaic tiles at St. Anthony's Church'; and

WHEREAS, St. Anthony's Church was not his only such project; he was deeply involved in the construction of Padua Academy, of the Antonian, a facility for senior citizens, and of the church's country retreat, St. Anthony in the Hills, where he welded animal pens and performed other labors; and

WHEREAS, he has also been a driving force behind the development of St. Anthony's Italian Festival, a much-loved annual event in the City of Wilmington, which evolved from a community carnival established in the 1920's; and

WHEREAS, while building in wood and stone has been a large part of his life's work, it is the building he has done in the spiritual lives of the people of his parish and beyond that has so endeared Father Roberto to the community in which he has lived and worked; and

WHEREAS, much of the essence of his life and ministry is summed up in the comments of Doris Marsilli, as quoted by Ms. Dobo, "More than anything else, what Father Robert would want people to know, is he was a good priest. All these things…I know he was glad to be able to do them, but he will never take credit";

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 147th General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the members do hereby express the heartfelt thanks of all Delawareans to this humble and dedicated servant of the Lord for all that he has done, and continues to do, to make the parish of St. Anthony of Padua, the city of Wilmington, of which it is such an integral part, and the State of Delaware better places.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the Senate and the House do hereby extend to Father Roberto Balducelli, pastor emeritus of Wilmington's St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church, warmest best wishes as he prepares to observe his upcoming 100^th Birthday.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that suitable copies of this Senate Concurrent Resolution be presented to Father Roberto and to St. Anthony's Church upon its passage.

SYNOPSIS

This Senate Concurrent Resolution celebrates the life and ministry of the Reverend Father Roberto Balducelli, pastor emeritus of Wilmington's St. Anthony of Padua Church, as he prepares to observe his 100^th Birthday on August 11, 2013.

Author: Senator McDowell