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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, With a unique history spanning more than 170 years, |
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the Socorro Mission is one of El Paso County's cultural treasures; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The Misión de Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción |
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de los Piros de Socorro, situated in La Purísima Parish, was founded |
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by the Franciscan order in 1682 to serve Spaniards and Piro Indians |
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from Socorro, New Mexico, who had fled the Pueblo Revolt of 1680; |
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the mission was destroyed twice by flooding of the Rio Grande, but |
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determined parishioners constructed a third church in 1843, and |
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that place of worship still stands today; recognized as a Recorded |
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Texas Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of |
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Historic Places, the Socorro Mission is built of adobe surfaced |
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with stucco, and its interior incorporates finely decorated ceiling |
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beams from the previous 18th-century building; and |
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WHEREAS, La Purísima Parish was transferred to the Jesuits in |
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the early 1880s and subsequently to the Diocese of El Paso in 1979; |
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during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, the Socorro Mission |
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underwent a series of renovations, and another significant |
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restoration project began in 2000, with the intent of returning the |
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exterior and interior to their original appearance while enhancing |
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the building's structural integrity; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, La Purísima Parish serves some 600 families |
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and holds an annual bazaar in September to celebrate the feast of |
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St. Michael; and |
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WHEREAS, The residents of the State of Texas are heirs to an |
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extraordinarily rich heritage, and the Socorro Mission serves as an |
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important reminder of this legacy; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor the Socorro Mission and extend to all |
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those associated with the mission sincere best wishes for the |
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future; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the mission as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |