Spanish Era

Pedro Calungsod arrived in Guam 15 June 1668, along with Father Diego Luis de San Vitores and a group of Jesuit missionaries and lay assistants from the Philippines. Father San Vitores believed that young men, strong in their faith like Calungsod, would be helpful in influencing the youth in the Marianas.

In March 1602, Franciscan lay brother Fray Juan Pobre de Zamora deserted a ship off the shores of Rota, an island just north of Guam. Although he was only in the Mariana Islands for seven months, he provided an invaluable historical contribution through descriptive written accounts of the lives, customs, and culture of Chamorros/CHamorus in the early 17th century.

Fray Francisco Resano del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (1851 – 1914), a member of the Order of the Augustinian Recollects, spent several years in the Mariana Islands and was known for his judicious and pacifist manner during times of trial.

Fray Antonio de Los Ángeles was the first known Catholic missionary to write an account of Chamorro/CHamoru life. De los Ángeles was a Franciscan friar on his way from Acapulco, Mexico to the Philippines in 1596 when his ship, the San Pablo, stopped at Guam.

Father Luís de Medina (1637 – 1670) was the first Jesuit martyr of the Marianas. He was born on 3 February 1637 in Málaga, Spain.

Father Diego Luis de San Vitores (1627 – 1672), a member of the religious order of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), brought Christianity to the Chamorro/CHamoru people in 1668. He was killed in Tumon, Guam 2 April 1672 just a little less than four years after his arrival, a death that he welcomed because he would be considered a martyr in his efforts to spread Christianity.