Naturalization Ceremony at Pennsbury Manor Adds 45 New Citizens

America welcomed 45 new citizens Friday afternoon at Pennsbury Manor in Falls Township.

The new Americans renounced their previous alliances and took their oath of citizenship in a peaceful grove of trees near the Delaware River, where boats full immigrants used to travel downriver to the Port of Philadelphia.

The ceremony was presided over by U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania judges Cynthia Rufe and Mitchell Goldberg.

“I ask you to seal this moment in your memory,” Rufe told crowd. She also told them to “make this land your own.”

Both judges told the immigrants about their families European roots. Ruffe, the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, told the group about how her family settled in the area. Goldberg spoke of his great-grandfather who fled Russian in 1903 to practice his religion in Philadelphia.

The new citizens came from 22 counties including Canada, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Liberia, Maldives Ukraine and many more.

“When I look in your eyes … I see America,” Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick said as a light breeze blew the American flag just feet away. “You have chosen to be part of a diverse society where diversity isn’t a word, it’s a concept.”

Vasily Dolgushev, who took his oath Friday at Pennsbury Manor, was the featured speaker at the event. He told his fellow immigrants about how he came to America in 2002 to continue his education. From there, he worked at colleges and universities across the country. It wasn’t until he traveled to Europe in 2005 that he realized how much he missed America. Now a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Dolgushy is married and has two children. Many would say he is living the American dream.

To welcome his peers, Dolgushev “I am becoming an American citizen” in various different languages.

Tears of joy flowed down the faces of several immigrants as they received their Certificate of Naturalization and were congratulated by government officials.

The ceremony finished with Irish immigrant John Byrne, also a renowned musician, performing “God Bless America.” During the performance, the soft voices of the new immigrants followed along with the words.