In April 1898, war broke out between Spain and the United States. On 21 June 1898, Lieutenant Colonel Juan Marina, Spanish Governor of the Mariana Islands, surrendered Guam to the control of Captain Henry Glass of the US Navy.
Expulsion of the Augustinian Recollects Read Post »
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 »
Francisco Javier Vilá y Mateu (1851 – 1913) was the first missionary bishop of Guam. He was born Ricardo Vilá y Mateu in the Catalonian town of Arenys de Mar in Spain on 9 May 1851.
Bishop Francisco Javier Vilá Read Post »
The period between 1907 and 1911 when German Catholic missionaries were officially in charge of Guam is a relatively unfamiliar time in the history of the island’s Catholic mission. In 1899, the Spanish Augustinian Recollect missionaries who had been in Guam since 1769 were expelled by US Naval Governor Richard P. Leary.
An Attempted German Mission Read Post »
Organized western religion has created two major upheavals in the daily lives of the Chamorro people of the Mariana Islands throughout history, both taking place with the arrival of two colonial powers: Spain and the United States.
Americans Bring Upheaval in Religious Practices Read Post »
Padre Don Jose Bernardo Palomo y Torres (1836 – 1919) was the first CHamoru priest. He is most often referred to as Father Jose Torres Palomo or Padre Palomo.
Padre Jose Bernardo Palomo Read Post »
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.
Bishop Agustín José Bernaus Read Post »
