Every year, during the Christmas season, Catholic families gather for nine nights of devotional prayers reciting the Nobenan Niño, a nobena (novena) in honor of Christ’s birth. For Chamorro families, the nightly prayers may be said in Chamorro or English.
Nobenan I Niño Jesus-Novena to the Christ Child Read Post »
The following are texts of Fundamental Catholic prayers in both Chamorro/CHamoru and English. They are recited during daily prayers, novenas (nobenas), and rosaries.
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 »
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.
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 »
The Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, first brought the Catholic faith to the Mariana Islands in 1668. In 1769, however, they were expelled from Guam due to powerful enemies in Rome and replaced by the Order of the Augustinian Recollect friars.
Jesuits: Society of Jesus Read Post »
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 Juan Pobre de Zamora Read Post »
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 Francisco Resano Read Post »
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.
Fray Antonio de Los Ángeles Read Post »
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 Luís de Medina Read Post »
