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Guam was inhabited by a civilization of people for at least three thousand years before its contact with the Western world in the 16th century. Today, its culture has changed dramatically following three centuries of tumultuous and yet grace-filled years of spiritual growth and human understanding, coupled with the foundation of Christian expression and experience in the Catholic faith.
March 6, 1521: Ferdinand Magellan sails across the Pacific Island chain during his voyage from Spain and calls it the "Isles of the Lateen Sails."
1662: Jesuit Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores, stops in Guam on the way to the Philippines and makes a resolve to return.
1665: King Philip IV of Spain and Queen Maria Ana of Austria order a decree to provide for the establishment of a mission in Guam due to the insistence of Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores.
MARCH 23, 1668: Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores and a party of missionaries set sail from Acapulco to Guam. He names the Mariana Islands in honor of the Queen Mother of Spain, Maria Ana of Austria, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom Padre Diego called "the first missionary to the Marianas."
FEBRUARY 2, 1699: Padre San Vitores establishes the first Catholic Church in Agana and dedicates it to the sweet name of Mary, "Dulce Nombre de Maria."
1767: An edict of King Charles III bans the Jesuits from all colonial possessions. This suppression was motivated by envy for the Jesuit society on the part of the enemies of the church. The Augustinian Recollects replaced the Jesuits and supplied missionaries to Guam until the American seizure of the island in 1898.
1807: The Marianas mission was placed under the Diocese of Cebu, Philippines.
1859: Jose Torres Palomo completes studies in San Carlos Seminary, Cebu, and is the first Chamorro to be ordained to the priesthood.
1899: The Treaty of Paris ceded Guam to the United States of America. The other islands of the Mariana group and the Carolines in the south were purchased from Spain by Germany. The American governor, Capt. Richard Leary, ordered the removal of the Augustinian Recollects.
1901: The first group Spanish Capuchin missionaries arrived at Apra Harbor.
1907: Guam was removed from the Diocese of Cebu, Philippines and placed under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Prefecture Apostolic of the Marianas.
1911: The Holy See, through Pope Pius X, erected the separate Vicariate Apostolic and committed it to the Spanish Capuchin Province of Catalonia. The Most Rev. Francisco Javier X. Villa y Mateu, OFM Cap., was consecrated Titular Bishop of Adraha and Vicar Apostolic of Guam.
1914: The Guam mission was handed over to a new Province, the Capuchins of Navarre, Spain. The Most Rev. Joaquin M. Olaiz was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Guam and Titular Bishop of Docimio by Pope Benedict XV.
1935: Most Rev. Miguel Angel Olano de Urteaga, OFM Cap., was consecrated Titular Bishop of Lagina and Vicar Apostolic of Guam.
1938: Ordination of Father Duenas, second priest of Guam, by Bishop Olano. Father Oscar Calvo was ordained two years later.
December 8, 1941: On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Sumay and Agana are bombed. Shortly thereafter, the US Governor signs a document of surrender and Guam is passed over to Japanese rule.
August 15, 1945: The war which started on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception ended on the Feast of the Assumption. On this day, President Harry S. Truman announced the surrender of Japan.
September 18, 1945: Most Rev. Appollinaris W. Baumgartner, OFM Cap., is consecrated Titular Bishop of Joppe and Vicar Apostolic of Guam.
1946: Three Sisters of Mercy from Belmont, North Carolina arrive at the request of Bishop Baumgartner.
1948: Bishop Baumgartner secures the services of Stigmatine Fathers of Waltham, Massachusetts to open a minor seminary.
1949: The School Sisters of Notre Dame, with headquarters in Milwaukee, sent a contingent of seven sisters to Guam.
1955: The Franciscan Missionary Sisters from La Crosse, Wisconsin arrive in Guam.
October 14, 1965: The Vicariate is elevated to a Diocese, as suffragan of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Bishop Baumgartner is appointed as the first Bishop of Guam.
May 17, 1970: Most Rev. Felixberto Camacho Flores is consecrated Titular Bishop of Stonj. Succeeds to See on May 15, 1971.
February 22-23, 1981: Pope John Paul II makes historical visit to Guam.
December 8, 1983: Most Rev. Anthony Sablan Apuron, OFM Cap., is appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Agana and was consecrated Titular Bishop of Muzuca on February 19, 1984.
May 20, 1984: Most Rev. Felixberto C. Flores is elevated as the First Metropolitan Archbishop of Agana. The Diocese of Agana is elevated to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agana, with suffragan Sees: the Diocese of Caroline and Marshall Islands and the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa (subsequently added on January 13, 1985).
October 1985: Diego Luis de San Vitores is beatified.
May 11, 1986: Most Rev. Anthony Sablan Apuron, OFM Cap., DD, is elevated as Metropolitan Archbishop of Agana..
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