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.
Father Diego Luis de San Vitores Read Post »
Father Aniceto Ibáñez del Carmen (1828 – 1892) is an important fixture in the history of the Order of the Augustinian Recollects in the Marianas. He was vicar provincial and curate of the Hagåtña parish and served in the Marianas from 1852 to 1892, though it is recorded that he left his assignment in the Marianas for a period of 10 years to serve in the Philippines, Spain, and Yap.
Father Aniceto Ibáñez del Carmen Read Post »
Father Don Ciriaco de Espiritu Santo (abt 1780 – 1849), a Filipino, spent 34 years in the Marianas, particularly Guam, from 1815 to 1849. Del Espiritu Santo arrived in Guam from the Philippines along with Father don Ygnacio Ladilao de Mojica in 1819.
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Kepuha (also spelled Quipuha) was a maga’låhi from Hagåtña, whose role in welcoming Spanish missionaries to Guam makes him a controversial figure in the island’s history. Kepuha was the first CHamoru to be baptized after he gave Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores the authority and land to start a Catholic mission in Hagåtña.
In 1889, when the unified Spanish Province was divided, a separate jurisdiction was created specifically for the Capuchin missionaries in the Carolines called the District Nullius, headquartered in Madrid and under the direct supervision of the supreme Capuchin superior in Rome.
Contributed to the Guam mission’s growth Bishop Joaquín Felipe Oláiz y Zabalza (1872 – 1945) was the third Apostolic Vicar of Guam. He was born in Pamplona, Navarra, Spain on
Bishop Joaquín Felipe Oláiz Read Post »
Bishop Agustín José Bernaus y Serra, or Bishop Bernaus, was the second Apostolic Vicar of Guam. When Bishop Francisco Javier Vilá died in 1913, Bernaus was appointed to succeed him, and was given the titular diocese of Milopotamus.
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The second religious order of Catholic missionaries, who were given responsibility for the Marianas mission in 1769, were the Augustinian Recollect friars. The Recollects were in the past sometimes called the Discalced Augustinians.
Augustinian Recollects Read Post »
From a religious perspective, World War II in Guam, or I Tiempon Chapoñes as Chamorros/CHamorus referred to it, was traumatic for a number of reasons. The Japanese invasion and occupation of the island was the most jarring and traumatic event in recent Guam history.
WWII: Religious Life during the Japanese Occupation Read Post »
The idea of the world being divided into different realms, as was common in the Chamorro/CHamoru view after Christianity was introduced, is one promoted or at least influenced by Spanish missionaries in the 17th century to aid in their conversion of the CHamoru people to Catholicism.
CHamoru World View Read Post »
