ST JUDE AND SINAJAÑA

St Jude Procession in the late 1950s or early 60s with Fr Kieran

A lot of what I am about to say cannot be proven with documents.

It's what I heard from a few older people, but older people who I believe, because they were in positions at the time that lend credibility to their story.

HOW DID ST JUDE GET TO BE SINAJAÑA'S PATRON?

It's a mysterious thing, because, prior to the founding of Saint Jude's in Sinajaña after the war, the Chamorros had no devotion to Saint Jude. Most never even heard of him, except perhaps when they would, at times, hear or read of the full list of Twelve Apostles.

Before the war, the Chamorros had no nobena to Saint Jude. No one had ever seen a statue of Saint Jude on Guam before the war. The Chamorros didn't even have a Chamorro hymn to Saint Jude.

How, then, did this saint, unknown to the Chamorros, get to be the patron of the new parish in Sinajaña after the war?

UNKNOWN TO NEARLY ALL

It wasn't just the Chamorros before the war who didn't know much at all about Saint Jude. The great majority of Catholics all over the world in those days knew almost nothing about him. This was the case for two reasons.

First, most of the individual Twelve Apostles were given little attention. What do you know, for example, of Saint Bartholomew or Saint Simon?

No; most of the attention went to the "biggies" among the Twelve Apostles. Saint Peter, Saint John and then in decreasing order, Saint Matthew, Saint Andrew, Saint James (two of them) and so on.

The second reason is due to another "biggie" among the Twelve Apostles, but a biggie in a bad way. Judas the Traitor. Because Judas Iscariot the Traitor and Jude Thaddeus have the same first name (Judas; Jude is just another version of the name Judas), poor Jude Thaddeus suffered from negative association with the bad Judas. It's something like unfortunate people who had the last name Hitler, who were not even related to the bad Hitler (Adolf) but who had to change their name after World War II because of Adolf.

In a similar way, people tended to ignore Saint Jude Thaddeus, so as to avoid the whole topic of Judas Iscariot.

ENTER THE DOMINICANS

But Jude Thaddeus was a separate person, the opposite of the bad Judas. Jude Thaddeus became a martyr and saint, and not a traitor like the other Judas.

Jude Thaddeus preached in Armenia, and he is highly venerated by the Armenians to this day. Many centuries later, the Dominican priests went to Armenia as missionaries and there they saw the great devotion of the Armenians towards Saint Jude Thaddeus. The Dominicans started to promote the veneration of Saint Jude all over the world, wherever the Dominican Order was present. If Saint Jude is better known today in the Church, it is due in large part to the Dominicans.

PACO DE LA CRUZ AND HONG KONG

One place the Dominicans were was Hong Kong, a British colony at the time.

In the 1930s, a man from Guam, with Manila connections, found himself in Hong Kong doing business. His name was Francisco (Paco) Muña de la Cruz, son of Eulogio de la Cruz. Eulogio was a Filipino living on Guam, married to a Chamorro. Eulogio seems to have engaged in business and had Manila connections. Paco went to Manila in the 1920s and 30s to also engage in business. He then branched out into Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, Paco became acquainted with Saint Jude, thanks to the Dominicans who were in Hong Kong. Paco personally began a devotion to this saint during his time in Hong Kong.

Dominican Priory in Hong Kong

THE NEW SINAJAÑA

After World War II, Sinajaña changed from a small, agricultural village of 1300 people to a crowded town of 9000 people in 1950. It was the biggest village on Guam for many years, competing with Barrigada which at times was also the biggest village depending on what year in the 1950s and 60s.

The Church decided to establish an actual parish in this new main village of Guam. The old and small chapel before the war had been under the title of Dulce Nombre de Maria, the same as the Hagåtña Cathedral. The Church wanted to build a bigger church and give it a new patron.

From a small group of elders, I learned that Paco de la Cruz, and his half-sister Ana Pérez Torres (wife of Judge Vicente "Ben" Reyes), suggested that Saint Jude be chosen as the patron of this new parish. Ana had also spent time before the war in Hong Kong with Paco, and may have become acquainted with Saint Jude that way.

Ana Reyes was a resident and parishioner in Sinajaña. Paco was, as well, till he moved to Hagåtña, where he opened the Guam Academy of Music and Arts, with his Filipina wife, Carmen (Meling) Romuladez de la Cruz.

A nobena to Saint Jude was translated into Chamorro, but a Chamorro hymn to Saint Jude was not composed until the early 1970s by Jesus Arriola Sonoda of Saipan, who was, at the time, a Capuchin brother named Brother Marion. I was told that it was Paco de la Cruz's copy of the English novena to Saint Jude that someone translated into Chamorro.

In the photo above, you can see Paco de la Cruz on the far right. There are also people connected to his half-sister Ana Reyes. Ana's sisters Asunción Torres and María Limtiaco are seen, as well as Ana's brother-in-law Antonio Artero. Photo was taken in Sinajaña right after the war. American military men are also in the pic.

Paco's half-sister, Ana Reyes, and yours truly

As I mentioned, I have no documents to prove any of this. But the older people who told me this information are credible. And it does explain why this unknown saint became Sinajaña's patron. The dots are all connected.

Saint Jude - Armenia - Dominicans - Hong Kong - Paco de la Cruz - Sinajaña

It's just that few people knew the story. It wasn't considered a big deal who made the suggestion. People didn't take "credit" for those things in those days. So people didn't talk about it, and thus the information was not passed down except to a few.

If this story is right, and perhaps we will never know while here on earth, at least I won't die and not pass on this story.

JESUIT CHURCHES : PEREGRINATIO

Church of the Gesù

Rome

Mother Church of the Jesuits throughout the world.  Finished in 1584.  Model for the Baroque style in church architecture.  It sits on the same site of an older church where Saint Ignatius of Loyola prayed before an image of Our Lady, still preserved in this newer church.  The cell (room) of Saint Ignatius still exists in the Jesuit residence to the right of the church and can be visited by the public.

The Baroque style, favored by the Jesuits (and others) during the Counter Reformation from around the year 1550 and after, tried to inspire people, and keep them Catholic, by filling their eyes and hearts with external beauty, reminding them of the splendor of God.

It is called the Gesù (Jesus, in Italian) but the more formal name is "The Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus."  Over the high altar is the monogram of the Holy Name - IHS.

Tomb of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Religion Defeats Hatred and Heresy

Notice the little image on the bottom left, tearing out pages from the writings of Zwingli!

 

Side Altar with the Arm Bone of Saint Francis Xavier

 

Pulpit of a "Preaching Church"

Part of the Counter Reformation, or the Church's efforts to stem the tide of Protestantism and win souls back to the Church, was a renewed emphasis on preaching.  Begun several centuries earlier by the Dominicans and Franciscans, pulpits were placed in a prominent part of the church and the naves of churches were freed from columns that would block the view of the pulpit.  This way, preachers could be seen and heard more easily by the congregation.  These churches, were sermons were emphasized, were called "preaching churches" and the Gesù was one of them.

Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Rome

Again, a richly ornate Baroque church.  This one is dedicated to the founder of the Jesuits, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, though his body is buried in the Gesù.  The impetus for the building of this church was the canonization of Saint Ignatius in 1622 but it took many years before the church was open for public worship.  The Jesuit Roman College was very near and it had the students in mind when it was being built.

Above the high altar are the words Jesus spoke to Ignatius while he was on his way to Rome to offer his services, and that of his first companions, to the Pope.  While in prayer, the Lord appeared to Ignatius holding his cross and told him, "I will be favorable to you in Rome."  Sure enough, the Pope received the first Jesuits with approval and put them to work immediately.

The Illusion of the Dome

At a certain spot on the floor of the church, you look up and think you see a dome.  The dome does not exist.  The illusion was simply painted on the ceiling.  That is - if you look from this spot marked on the floor :

 

But if you move to any other part of the church and look up, the illusion becomes apparent :

 

 

 

 

Several Jesuit saints!

 

 

 

Tomb of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

 

 

....and Saint Robert Bellarmine

 

 

...and Saint John Berchmans

 

 





A VISIT TO MISSION CHURCHES OF LAGUNA

Laguna is the name of a province in the Philippines, founded in 1571.  Franciscan missionaries began evangelizing the area in 1578 and built many fine, impressive churches.

LAGUNA PROVINCE

San Pedro de Alcántara Church, Pakil

Named after a famous reformer of the Franciscan Order in Spain, Saint Peter of Alcántara.  Not only is the church a nice visit, it also houses Our Lady of Turumba.  The miraculous image of Our Lady was, according to an old tradition, sunk in the waters of the lake and later found by fishermen who found in very heavy to carry.  Others tried to carry it and found it nearly impossible to do so.  When townspeople began to dance and sing as they tried to lift it, the painting gave way and was easy to carry.

Main Altar

One of the side altars

A raised pulpit.  The priest had to walk a ways and up the stairs to preach from here.

Our Lady of Turumba's painting in the lower, center area

 

A 19th century poster of the Miraculous Image of Turumba, formally Our Lady of Sorrows.

Santiago Apostol Church, Paete

The Carving Capital of the Philippines, famous for its wood craftsmen.  The town name comes from the word for chisel.

The retablo

The Franciscans leave their mark by adding their Coat of Arms in various places.  The Coat of Arms includes the wounded hands of Jesus and Saint Francis.  Palm branches seem to be a common motif in Paete's church.

A native Saint Christopher

When restoring what they thought was the only painting of Saint Christopher in the church, workers discovered an even older painting of the saint underneath.  It is believed later Spanish friars thought the original, depicting the saint as a native, was a problem so they had another painting, with the saint looking more European, placed over this.

 

Paete's interesting balcony-like raised pulpit.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Pagsanjan

This is a famous tourist destination, primarily for its water fall.

In a side chapel, a beautiful altar for the image of the church titular.  That's Bishop Zumárraga on the left, the bishop of Mexico City at the time of the apparition.  Saint Juan Diego, the visionary, is on the right.


San Gregorio Magno Church, Majayjay

 

Built like a fortress and dedicated to Pope Saint Gregory the Great.

San Bartolomé Church, Nagcarlan

An exquisite retablo...

 

...and attractive floor tiles

Preaching lofty themes from a lofty pulpit.