* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:16] AND WITH THE PASSING OF ARCHBISHOP FIZA, THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CO CATHEDRAL, WE CELEBRATED THIS YEAR. THE TIME IS NOW TO FULFILL THE VISION, AND IN DOING SO, TO DO IT IN THE LEGACY OF ARCHBISHOP FIZA WHO FIRST HAD THE DREAM. AND SO THIS IS A FRUIT OF THE GENEROSITY OF PEOPLE, OF THE LOVE OF PEOPLE. FOR ARCHBISHOP FIZA AND HIS LEGACY. IT IS A STEP IN THE LIFE OF NOT ONLY AT THE CO CATHEDRAL PARISH, BUT ITS PLACE AS A HEART OF WORSHIP AND A HEART OF GATHERING IN THE LOCAL CHURCH OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF GALVESTON HOUSTON. SO THE WORK HAS JUST GOTTEN UNDERWAY ON THIS SITE. AS YOU CAN SEE IN RECENT WEEKS, THE GROUND IS BEING LEVELED, THE SIDEWALK'S REWORKED, AND THE PROJECT IS MOVING ITS WAY INWARD. AND SO WE ARE HERE TODAY TO BREAK GROUND CEREMONIALLY ON THE VERY SPOT. THIS CORNER WILL BE APART, THAT COMMEMORATES NOT ONLY THE HISTORY OF SACRED HEART PARISH, BUT THE LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP FIZA WILL STAND WHERE YOU ARE SITTING RIGHT NOW. AND SO IT IS A GREAT JOY TO GET FINALLY UNDERWAY. SO AS WE CONTINUE, I'D LIKE TO FIRST WELCOME AS EMINENCE, DANIEL CARDINAL DINARDO TO THE PODIUM TO SHARE SOME REMARKS. MAYOR, SO GOOD TO SEE YOU HERE. THANK YOU. I REMEMBER BEING IN YOUR OFFICE TOO, FOR THAT PAGE. IT WAS GREAT. ARCHBISHOP LORENZO WOULD NO DOUBT SAY TO ME, DAN, IT'S NOT A BAD DAY TO BEGIN. THE SUN IS OUT. SIX MONTHS AGO, FATHER JEFF AND THE CO CATHEDRAL COMMUNITY LAUNCHED THE COMPLETING THE WALK CAPITAL CAMPAIGN WITH A CLEAR MISSION TO FULFILL THE VISION AND COMMEMORATE THE LEGACY OF ARCHBISHOP FIORENZA, WHO BEGAN FUNDRAISING FOR AND BUILDING THE NEW CO CATHEDRAL OF THE SACRED HEART OVER 20 YEARS AGO. IN LIGHT OF THIS MISSION, THERE HAS BEEN AN OVERWHELMING RESPONSE FROM THE PARISH AND THE ARCH DIOCESAN COMMUNITY. TODAY WE GATHER TO BEGIN REALIZING THE TANGIBLE WORKS OF THAT RESPONSE IN HIS ORIGINAL VISION FOR THE CATHED CO CATHEDRAL OF THE SACRED HEART, ARCHBISHOP HERE RUNS A PLAN FOR A CATHEDRAL GREEN ON THIS VERY SPOT, AS WAS HIS NATURE. IT WAS MEANT TO BE A PLACE THAT BEAUTIFIED OUR DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY THAT WELCOMED OUR ARCH DIOCESAN FAMILY AND PROVIDED A GATHERING SPACE FOR PRAYER EVENTS AND SERVICE. IT'S THEREFORE ONLY FITTING THAT THIS PLAZA BE ESTABLISHED IN HIS HONOR AND IN HIS MEMORY. WE ARE JOINED TODAY BY SO MANY OF YOU WHO CALLED ARCHBISHOP FIZA, THEIR SHEPHERD, THEIR PASTOR, THEIR UNCLE, THEIR FRIEND. I WOULD LIKE PARTICULARLY TO RECOGNIZE TODAY, MARK AND LISA FIZA, MRS. RAY WHITE SISTER CELESTE TRAHAN, MR. AND MRS. STAN MERRICK. MR. AND MRS. JASON RYAN, MAYOR PRO TEM DAVID MARTIN, COUNCILMAN ROBERT GALLEGOS AND COUNCILMAN DAVID ROBINSON. I WANT TO OFFER MY THANKS TO FATHER JEFF BAIN FOR HIS LEADERSHIP ON THIS PROJECT. YOU KNOW, I'M THE ONE THAT NAMED HIM HERE, . DON'T FORGET THAT. AND I WANT TO REALLY WELCOME MAYOR TURNER FOR HIS SUPPORT OF THIS ENDEAVOR TO SUZANNE O'NEILL AND NICK SOWICKI, THE CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIRS, AND THE ENTIRE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE FOR THEIR EFFORTS. I ALSO WISH TO THANK ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE SUPPORTED THE COMPLETING THE WALK CAMPAIGN WITH THEIR PRAYERS AND THEIR FINANCIAL SUPPORT. THANK YOU ALL. UH, IT'S MY PLEASURE NOW TOO. LET'S, RIGHT NOW. PERFECT. THANK YOU, CARDINAL. BEFORE CARDINAL STEPS UP TO BLESS THE SITE FOR THE GROUNDBREAKING ITSELF. AS I SHARED, IT IS A GREAT HONOR TO HAVE MAYOR TURNER WITH US TODAY AS A A FRIEND. AND I KNOW A GREAT APPRECIATOR OF THE WORK AND THE LEGACY OF ARCHBISHOP FIZA, NOT JUST FOR CATHOLICS IN HOUSTON, BUT PEOPLE OF GOODWILL ALL AROUND THE CITY OF HOUSTON. AND SO IT IS A GREAT HONOR. WE KNOW THAT YOUR LIFE IS CRAZY WITH US AS YOUR TERM COMES TO AN END. AND SO WE ARE SO GRATEFUL THAT YOU COULD TAKE TIME TO JOIN US TODAY FOR THIS IMPORTANT WORK. MAYOR TURNER, THANK YOU, FATHER BA AND CARDINAL [00:05:01] DONATO. IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO BE WITH YOU ONE MORE TIME, AND I KNOW YOU'VE ALREADY, UH, ACKNOWLEDGED, UH, SOME OF THEM, BUT LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO, UH, TO THE DEACONS OF THE CITY HALL CHURCH, UM, MAYOR, APPROACH HIM DAVE MARTIN AND CITY COUNCILMAN ROBERT GALLEGOS AND COUNCILMAN DAVID ROBINSON. UH, THESE ARE THE DEACONS AND, UM, ALL THREE OF THEM WILL BE RETIRING, UH, AT THE END OF, UM, AT THE END OF THIS MONTH, ALONG WITH, UH, ALONG WITH YOURS, TRULY. SO, LOOK, THIS IS A, IT'S A BLESSED DAY TO BE HERE. UM, AND LOOK, I WANT TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO CARDINAL DONATO FOR THE INVITATION, UH, TO JOIN YOU ALL TODAY AS WE BREAK GROUND FOR THE ARCHBISHOP JOSEPH, A PZA PLAZA HERE AT THE CO CATHEDRAL OF THE SACRED HEART. UH, I THINK IT WAS, UM, IT WAS EARLIER IN THE YEAR, UM, THAT, UH, THE TWO OF THEM ALONG WITH OTHERS CAME TO CITY HALL AND, UM, AND VISITED WITH ME. IT WAS A VERY PLEASANT MISSION. UM, IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST MEETINGS THAT I, THAT I HAVE IN EIGHT YEARS. UH, THEY TOLD ME, UH, MAYOR, THIS IS WHAT'S GOING TO TAKE PLACE. UH, WE WANT TO SHOW YOU WHAT'S GOING TO TAKE PLACE. I LOOKED AT IT AND THEY SAID, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. WE'RE GONE, AND, UH, . AND I SAID, MY, MY, MY MIND, YOU KNOW, , PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHEN THE GROUNDBREAKING IS GONNA TAKE PLACE, AND I WILL BE THERE. THEY DIDN'T ASK FOR ANY MONEY, NONE. THEY SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE ARE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD, BUT WE WANTED YOU TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO BE TAKING PLACE, UH, RIGHT THERE AT THAT LOCATION. SO THANK YOU ALSO VERY, VERY MUCH. UH, LOOK, I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, RECOGNIZE BISHOP VITAL DEL ORA, THE AUXILIARY BISHOP AND CHANCELLOR OF THE ARCHDIOCESE, WHO IS HERE WITH US THIS AFTERNOON AS WELL. IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS JUST OVER A YEAR AGO THAT WE GATHERED HERE TO CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP ZA, WHO FOR OVER 65 YEARS WAS A LEADING RELIGIOUS FIGURE, A CHAMPION OF CIVIL RIGHTS, A DEFENDER OF THE POOR AND THE SICK, AND A CONSUMMATE HOUSTONIAN DEEPLY DEVOTED TO THIS CITY AND TO ITS PEOPLE. IN ADDITION TO BEING A LEADER IN THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY, ARCHBISHOP FIZA SERVED THE PEOPLE OF HOUSTON IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS, WHETHER IT WAS HELPING US WITH POLICING REFORM, ADDRESSING HOUSING ISSUES, SPEAKING OUT ON BEHALF OF IMMIGRANTS AND THE HOMELESS, HELPING TO DESEGREGATE OUR SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES, OR HIGHLIGHTING AND MARSHALING RESOURCES TO THE UNDERSERVED ARCHBISHOP LORENZO WAS A LIVING EXAMPLE OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. HE ALSO FORGED ICAL AND INTER-RELIGIOUS RELATIONSHIPS THAT CONTINUE TO THIS DAY. HE WAS ONE OF THE THREE AMIGOS, ALONG WITH PASTOR WILLIAM LAWSON AND THE LATE RABBI SAMUEL KARP, WHO REPRESENT MAJOR PILLARS IN OUR COMMUNITY. ALL THREE OF THEM CAME TO MY OFFICE SEVERAL TIMES. UH, THEY CAME IN, THEY SAT DOWN AND THEY SAID, MAYOR, THESE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE THINK NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. THEY WERE SO DISTINGUISHED, AND YOU ARE IN SUCH AWE OF THEM, THAT THE ONLY THING I HAD TO SAY WAS, UH, YES, YES, I AGREE WITH YOU. YES. AND, UH, WE WILL WORK ON IT. AND THEN THEY WOULD SAY, HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE MAYOR ? AND THEN I SAID TO THEM, LET US PRAY, . UM, AND THEY PRAYED AND HE LIVED DOWN THIS EXAMPLE ON THE NATIONAL STAGE TWO FROM MARCHING WITH DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. IN SELMA TO LEADING THE BISHOP'S CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED STATES AND BEING A VOICE OF REASON, COMPASSION, AND UNDERSTANDING WHENEVER THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED ITSELF. I'M HONORED TO BE A PART OF TODAY'S CEREMONIES COMMEMORATING THE LEGACY OF ARCH BISHOP LORENZO. I WAS PROUD TO KNOW HIM AND WORK WITH HIM. AND IN THE SHADOW OF THE GREAT CATHEDRAL THAT HE SPEARHEADED, WE CALLED THE MAN WHO WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE AN EXAMPLE TO ALL WHO PASSED THROUGH THIS PLAZA AND THROUGH THE DOORS OF THE CO CATHEDRAL OF SOMEONE DEDICATED SO UNIQUELY TO THE PRINCIPLES OF FAITH SERVICE AND LOVE A NEIGHBOR. WE WILL MISS HIM. BUT THIS PLAZA WILL TRULY BE A MONUMENT, NOT JUST TO THE PERSON, [00:10:01] BUT WHAT TO THE PRINCIPLES THAT HE STOOD FOR AND THE WORK THAT HE PROVIDED TO OUR CITY. SO THANK YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH FOR WHAT'S TAKING PLACE RIGHT HERE ON THIS PASSAGE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR TURNER FOR YOUR BEAUTIFUL REMARKS. AS MAYOR TURNER SHARED, ARCHBISHOP ZO IS NOT JUST A MAN OF OF WORDS, BUT A MAN OF ACTION. AND SO I THINK AT THIS POINT, HE WOULD TELL ME TO STOP TALKING. LET'S GET THIS UNDERWAY. AND SO I'D LIKE TO INVITE CARDINAL DINARDO BACK FORWARD TO DO OUR BLESSING. IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. PEACE BE WITH YOU. BE WITH YOUR SPIRIT, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THE WORK WE ARE BEGINNING TODAY SHOULD ENLIVEN OUR FAITH AND MAKE US GRATEFUL. WE KNOW THE FAMILIAR WORDS OF THE PSALM. IF THE LORD DOES NOT BUILD THE HOUSE IN THEY BROTHERS IS LABOR. WHENEVER WE LOOK TO THE INTERESTS OF OUR NEIGHBOR AND SERVE THEM, WE ARE GOD'S OWN COWORKERS. THEREFORE, LET US PRAY THAT GOD WILL BRING THIS CONSTRUCTION TO A SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION, AND THAT HIS PROTECTION WILL KEEP THOSE WHO WORK ON IT SAFE FROM INJURY. LET US PRAY ALMIGHTY AND MERCIFUL, FATHER, YOU HAVE CREATED ALL THINGS THROUGH YOUR SON AND HAVE MADE HIM THE UNSHAKEABLE FOUNDATION OF YOUR KINGDOM THROUGH THE GIFT OF YOUR ETERNAL WISDOM. WE ASK YOU TO BLESS THIS GROUND AND GRANT THAT THE UNDERTAKING WE BEGIN TODAY FOR YOUR GLORY AND OUR OWN WELLBEING MAY PROGRESS DAY BY DAY TO ITS SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN. THANK YOU, CARDINAL FOR THE BLESSING. AND SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME, IT'S TIME TO ACTUALLY DO THE CEREMONIAL GROUNDBREAKING. SO I INVITE, UH, GROUP ONE, UH, MAYOR TURNER, CARDINAL DINARDO, AND I'LL BE TAKING OUR PLACES IN THE MIDDLE. AND I THINK THERE'S GROUP NUMBERS FORMED. UH, NICK CAN COME UP TO HELP FACILITATE IF YOU'RE UNCLEAR OF THE, THE GROUP NUMBER FOR THE, THE PHOTO PROCESS AS WE DO THE GROUNDBREAKING. BUT WE INVITE GROUP ONE TO COME FORWARD AT THIS TIME. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.