Guam: Sisters of Mercy rejoice during 80th anniversary Mass

The Sisters of Mercy mark 80 years of service in the US territory of Guam with a thanksgiving Mass presided by Archbishop Ryan Jimenez, who praises their contributions to education and care for the vulnerable.

Visiting Sisters of Mercy and other guests from off-island pray alongside members of the Sisters of Mercy on Guam during Mass Sunday, November 8, 2026 (Archdiocese of Agaña Photos by Tony C. Diaz) 

Hundreds of people filled the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagatña, Guam, for Mass on Sunday, November 8, as the Sisters of Mercy celebrated their 80th year anniversary on island with joyful thanksgiving to God.

Archbishop Ryan P. Jimenez was the presider and homilist for the Eucharistic celebration, joined at the altar by seven priests and deacons of the Archdiocese of Agaña.

The remarkable legacy of mercy and service by the Sisters of Mercy in the Micronesian islands began 80 years ago.

Responding to a call by Bishop Apollinaris Baumgartner, OFM Cap. for religious women to serve in Guam following World War II, the Sisters of Mercy community in Belmont, North Carolina, sent three Sisters to the US territory island.

With great faith and courage, they travelled across the ocean and arrived on Nov. 5, 1946, establishing the religious order. The people of Guam had survived a brutal war and Japanese occupation of their home less than two years earlier. Their tremendous faith and devotion to God was instrumental in their survival.

The first group of Mercy Sister pioneers comprised the Superior, Sister Mary Inez Underwood, a native of Guam; Sister Mary Louise Wiensenforth; and Sister Mary Annette McBennett.

A portrait of the three pioneer Sisters of Mercy and Bishop Baumgartner stood at a front corner of the sanctuary during Sunday’s Mass. Beside it was an image of Venerable Mother Catherine McAuley, who founded the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland in 1831.

In his homily, Archbishop Jimenez emphasized everyone’s reliance on God as he discussed the blessings God has bestowed through the Sisters of Mercy and the necessary qualities of humility, gratitude, readiness and discernment.

“In celebrating the tender Mercy of God for the past 80 years through the Sisters of Mercy, the posture of humility is important in receiving God’s blessings,” the Archbishop said.

“Sometimes, we think humility is simply about giving, serving, or putting others before ourselves. But there is another dimension of humility: recognizing that we are also recipients,” Archbishop Jimenez said. “We cannot provide everything for ourselves. We need others. Above all, we need God.”

“And this, I believe, is an appropriate disposition as we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Sisters of Mercy on Guam,” he added.

“Before we celebrate what the Sisters of Mercy have accomplished, we must first recognize what God has given us: eighty years of God's faithfulness. Eighty years of generous service. Eighty years of lives touched, children educated, families accompanied, and people, especially the vulnerable, cared for,” he said.

“Only then can we stand before God with profound gratitude if, first, we receive with deep humility, what God has given us, we stand before God with profound gratitude,” Archbishop Jimenez continued. “We recognize that everything began as a gift.”

Discussing the day's Gospel of Matthew 12:1-13, the Parable of the Ten Virgins, the Archbishop spoke of the importance of readiness.

'From a posture of humility and gratitude for the past to continuing faithfulness in the present and readiness for the future,' he said. 'What does this Gospel say to us as we celebrate eighty years of Mercy presence on Guam?'

The Archbishop said it reminds us that gratitude for the past must become faithfulness in the present and readiness for the future.

'We cannot live only on the accomplishments of yesterday,' Archbishop Jimenez warned. 'We cannot assume that because the lamp has burned brightly for eighty years, it will continue burning without our attention. The oil must be replenished.'

This oil, explained Archbishop Jimenez, 'is the oil of prayer, of faithfulness to our vocation, of charity and hope, of compassion, of forgiveness, and of daily acts of mercy.'

'It is the oil that sustained the pioneering Sisters in 1946. It is the same oil that must sustain the Sisters of Mercy today,' the Archbishop said.

Recognizing how vital religious communities are in the work of the Church and that very few women are answering the call to religious vocation today, the Archbishop said that the Archdiocese and its religious orders must discern how to address that concern.

'Dear Sisters of Mercy and all our religious sisters, you’re very much needed in our Church, in our community and in our world,” Archbishop Jimenez said. “We need your voices for the voiceless, we need your tender care and mercy for others.”

“So, from humility to gratitude, to fidelity in the present and readiness to the future, relying on God’s grace and ... the tender mercy of God, we give thanks to God for 80 years and the presence and ministry of the Sisters of Mercy and beyond,” the archbishop said. “Biba Sisters of Mercy! Biba all religious sisters!”

The Mass drew many of the people who have been helped, guided and inspired by the Sisters of Mercy in Guam and Micronesia at schools, parishes, communities, private and government organizations since their arrival in 1946.

Guam’s Catholic faithful were blessed to welcome members of the Sisters of Mercy from the Philippines and United States mainland at the Mass, as well as at a reception that followed afterward in Tumon, and the funeral Mass for Sister Marian Therese Arroyo, RSM earlier in the week.

Guests included Sr. Sue Sanders, RSM, President of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, who shared an inspiring reflection with the congregation after the 80th anniversary Mass, extending gratitude to Archbishop Jimenez, the Sisters of Mercy on Guam but also to every person on Guam who has supported their sisters in their ministry.

Tony C. Diaz - Guam *
Source: vaticannews.va/en

* Director of Communication, Archdiocese of Agaña