Introduction

Faith is the gift God engenders in the human heart.  How faith takes root in the human heart remains a mystery.  The Franciscan Brother Juan Pobre arrived on Rota before the end of the sixteenth century and Father Juan de Los Angeles stayed on Guam for a brief period around the same time.  Was the prayer to Mary offered by these Franciscans the seed of devotion for the people of the Marianas?  The arrival of the Jesuits in 1668 brought a devotion to Mary in their hearts, which took root among those they baptized.  Diego Luis de San Vitores, a future martyr, and later “Blessed” of the Church, dedicated the first church built on the island of Guam on February 2, 1669 to the Dulce Nombre de Maria, the Sweet Name of Mary.  These first missionaries fostered a devotion to Mary and introduced the rosary.  Today, this dedication to Santa Maria is inextricably woven into the fabric of our expression of faith and cultural traditions.  Exactly when this Marian devotion in the Mariana Islands became centered on Santa Marian Kamalen is uncertain; however, historical reports and oral tradition tell of her presence for at least three centuries.

Our Lady has come to Indonesia, Japan, and Vietnam, within the Asia-Pacific Region, and a strong and unwavering devotion has arisen among the faithful in these countries.  It is natural that God would foster a particular devotion to His Mother here, where a long-standing devotion was already in place.  Hagåtña, the central village in earlier times, became her final place of honor and devotion.  It is here, in the capitol of Guam, that the statue of Santa Marian Kamalen is enthroned.  Our Lady has responded in accordance with Divine Providence to personal and familial petitions, as well as island crises, with alacrity and completeness.  Her reliance upon the compassion of her Son has withstood the test of time from the Marriage Feast of Cana, found in Sacred Scripture, to the present moment.