RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The third Augustinian Gala which launches the Midwest Augustinians' year-long 75th anniversary celebration will be held on Friday, April 24, 2015, at the Drake Hotel in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, The event is expected to attract 450 guests from across metropolitan Chicago and the Midwest and include special guests from Rome; and
WHEREAS, The Augustinians of the Midwest are members of the Order of Saint Augustine, an international Catholic religious community which was founded in 1244; and
WHEREAS, The Augustinians trace their spiritual roots to St. Augustine of Hippo, a fifth century Bishop and Doctor ofthe Church; and
WHEREAS, The Gala is held annually to honor those who exemplify the Augustinian spirit, charism, and core values; and
WHEREAS, This year the Midwest Augustinians will recognize the Reverend Tony Pizzo, O.S.A., Dr. Jim Foody and the legacy ofthe late Reverend Ray Ryan, O.S.A.; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend Tony Pizzo has been an ordained priest for 30 years and a member of the Midwest Augustinians for 35 years. The Reverend Tony Pizzo is the Pastor of St. Rita Parish in Chicago, where he has served since 2006. Under the Reverend Tony Pizzo's pastoral leadership, St. Rita Parish has been involved in community organizing to seek solutions to neighborhood issues such as housing foreclosures, immigration, street gangs, and violence. The Reverend Tony Pizzo previously served at St. Clare of Montefalco Parish in Chicago and at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein; and
WHEREAS, Jim Foody, M.D., F.A.C.P., first came to know the Midwest Augustinians when he entered St. Augustine Seminary High School in Holland, Michigan, and studied at Tolentine College in Olympia Fields. Dr. Jim Foody left the Augustinian seminary program, but has maintained lifelong ties with the order. In 1983 Dr. Jim Foody joined the faculty for the Department of Medicine for the University of Chicago. In 2001, he moved to the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine where he is a Professor of Medicine and Vice-Chairman for Clinical Affairs. In 2013 Dr. Foody was ordained a permanent deacon by Bishop Conlon of Joliet; and
WHEREAS, The order will also present a "Diamond Jubilee Remembrance" in memory of the late Reverend Ray Ryan, O.S.A., who served as Prior Provincial ofthe Midwest Augustinians for twelve years. The Reverend Ray Ryan's years as an Augustinian. led him to ministries across the Midwest, including Augustinian parishes and schools in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Missouri. The Reverend Ray Ryan passed away in 2012, two years after being diagnosed with lymphona. The Reverend Ray Ryan is remembered as a faithful leader during a challenging time of transition in the Augustinian Order. For the Reverend Ray Ryan's students and parishioners, he was a prayerful, kind and compassionate mentor who was frequently sought out for his wise counsel; and
WHEREAS, Alderman Edward M. Burke has apprised this august body of this noteworthy event; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this fifteenth day of April, 2015, do hereby recognize the contributions of these special honorees and their remarkable legacy of achievement; and
Alderman - 14th Ward
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable parchment copy of this resolution be presented to the very Reverend Bernard C. Scianna, O.S.A., Prior Provincial of the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel.