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2018 SESSION
18105076DPatrons-- Dunnavant, Barker, Black, Carrico, Chafin, Chase, Cosgrove, Dance, Deeds, DeSteph, Ebbin, Edwards, Favola, Hanger, Howell, Lewis, Locke, Lucas, Marsden, Mason, McClellan, McDougle, McPike, Newman, Norment, Obenshain, Peake, Petersen, Reeves, Ruff, Saslaw, Spruill, Stanley, Stuart, Sturtevant, Suetterlein, Surovell, Vogel, Wagner and Wexton
WHEREAS, the Most Reverend Francis X. DiLorenzo, who strengthened the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond through his leadership as bishop for more than a decade, died on August 17, 2017; and
WHEREAS, a native of Philadelphia, Bishop DiLorenzo attended St. Thomas More High School and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary; he was ordained to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1968 and served as pastor until 1971, when he was sent to Rome to continue his theological studies at the Academia Alfonsiana and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas; and
WHEREAS, Bishop DiLorenzo continued to serve as a priest and a Catholic educator in Pennsylvania, as well as a member of the Papal Household under Pope John Paul II, until he was ordained to the episcopacy in 1988 and was appointed as an auxiliary bishop in Scranton, Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, in 1994, Bishop DiLorenzo was installed as bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu, and he was later nominated by Pope John Paul II as a participant in the 1998 Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Asia, where he encouraged cooperation between bishops in Asia and the United States to better serve immigrant communities; and
WHEREAS, Bishop DiLorenzo was installed as the bishop of Richmond on May 24, 2004, and became well known in the community for his humility, concern for the less fortunate, and emphasis on religious education; and
WHEREAS, under Bishop DiLorenzo’s leadership, enrollment in the seminary more than doubled, and he ordained 18 priests; in 2014, he launched a capital campaign that raised more than $105 million to support parishes and clergy in Richmond; and
WHEREAS, Bishop DiLorenzo formed the McMahon Parater Foundation, which supported Richmond Catholic schools by providing scholarships and financial assistance, as well as professional development for teachers; he also founded the Lay Ecclesial Ministry Institute to help parish leaders educate children and adults; and
WHEREAS, Bishop DiLorenzo also cofounded the Virginia Catholic Conference, which advocated on behalf of the Diocese of Richmond and the Diocese of Arlington and invited priests from Africa and Asia to preach in the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Bishop DiLorenzo will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his sister, Anita; brother, Paul; and numerous other family members, friends, and Catholics in the communities he served; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of the Most Reverend Francis X. DiLorenzo, a respected spiritual leader in Richmond; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of the Most Reverend Francis X. DiLorenzo as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.