The first religious congregation to staff the Father Duenas Memorial School and Minor Seminary—members of which are commonly called Stigmatine priests, was founded in Verona, Italy, in 1816 by St. Gaspar Bertoni.
The Religious Sisters of Mercy, commonly called the Sisters of Mercy or Mercy Sisters, were the first permanent community of Catholic religious women in Guam and the first to accept local vocations. They soon became the largest community of Chamorro/Chamoru religious women after their arrival in Guam on 5 November 1946.
During World War II, two American servicemen by the names of Henry Metzker and Bob Beckett played key roles in the origins of the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Guam.
Seventh-day Adventists Read Post »
The first Jehovah’s Witnesses in Guam arrived from the Philippines in the 1940s. These first Witnesses were contract workers assigned to assist with post-World War II reconstruction.
Jehovah’s Witnesses Read Post »
Francisco B. Leon Guerrero (1897 – 1974), also known as “Mr. Organic Act,” was known for his groundbreaking role in advancing the cause of American citizenship for the people of Guam. If there is one person responsible for the attainment of US citizenship by the people of Guam, it is FB Leon Guerrero.
Francisco B. Leon Guerrero Read Post »
The origins of the Faith Presbyterian Christian Reformed Church in Guam date back to the 1950s, when military personnel from the Protestant Reformed Church worshiped together at the Navy Chapel. Filipino contract workers assisting with Guam’s postwar reconstruction eventually joined this group.
Faith Presbyterian Christian Reformed Church Read Post »
To Bishop Apollinaris W. Baumgartner (1899 – 1970) belongs the honor and distinction of taking a church nearly decimated by World War II and rebuilding it out of the ashes of war into a strong and vibrant Diocese. In 1945, when Bishop Baumgartner was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Guam, most of Guam’s churches were damaged beyond repair.
Bishop Apollinaris William Baumgartner Read Post »
Pioneers of entertainment. Frank and Marjorie met at the Texas Centennial in 1936 where he was a famous high diver and she a shy, but gutsy, aerialist. They would watch each other’s act, and finally met when Marjorie’s hair turned green after she and some of the show girls took a dip in Frank’s small diving tank below his 100-foot diving tower.
For almost 300 years, the Spanish overseas Catholic missions took firm root in the Marianas. Spanish clergy and superiors — Jesuit, Augustinian Recollect or Capuchin — governed the Catholic Church in the Marianas. However, on 26 October 1945, that era came to a close with the departure of Miguel Angel Olano Urteaga, OFM Cap., the last Spanish bishop of Guam.
Bishop Miguel Angel Urteaga Olano Read Post »
Throughout the 19th century, northern Guam had always had about five times more residents than did southern Guam, largely due to the population concentrated in Hagåtña, and in the 20th century, the north continued to support many more people than the south.
Resettlement Patterns Under American Rule Read Post »
