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03/10/25 - “I belong to you, Chalan Kanoa." With those words, Diocese of Chalan Kanoa Bishop Romeo Duetao Convocar started his tenure as the head of the Catholic church in the CNMI last Saturday during his installation and ordination at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral.
“The great and beautiful people of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, by the virtue of this episcopal ordination and installation, I now belong to you. Yes, I belong to you, Chalan Kanoa. I trust that with the Lord's sustaining grace and His boundless mercy, I will have the strength to help you walk with you as I am tasked with doing the ministry of vision to serve you,” said the 54-year-old native of Iloilo City, Philippines as he addressed the nearly 2,000 faithful in attendance.
The former apostolic administrator and vicar-general of the Archdiocese of Agana, Guam welcomed his new assignment and also took time to acknowledge people who have been a big part of his episcopal journey—former archbishop of Agana, Michael Jude Byrnes, and his own uncle, monsignor Manuel Duetao.
“In a special way, I include in our prayers [archbishop] Michael J. Byrnes, who has been instrumental in helping me serve the diocese more to the capacity that I was serving the archdiocese...He's back now in Detroit, Michigan, so I offer him my prayers... I would also like to mention especially the person who has been instrumental in my own vocation, my late mother's brother, monsignor Manuel Duetao. He is not here, but I'm sure he's watching the live streaming from the priests’ retirement home in Dumaguete City. Monsignor Duetao is 94 years old.”
While he admittedly said he now belongs to Chalan Kanoa, Convocar still acknowledged the people of Guam who he said has shaped him after serving there for the past 14 years.
Convocar, who arrived on Saipan last Monday, said the past six years as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana was very challenging, not just for the entire people of Guam, but for him personally.
“What I went through tested my faith. However, these experiences have greatly deepened my understanding of the Lord's faithful love and His boundless mercy to His people, and so, in my heart, for His mercies have never failed me. And this, I bring with me in my ministry, proclaiming the compassion and the faithful love of God, as I begin my ministry with you here in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,” he said addressing the close to 2,000 in attendance during his ordination and installation.
He then recalled a conversation he had with his predecessor, Archbishop Ryan Jimenez of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agana, Guam, shortly after he accepted Pope Francis’ appointment as bishop-elect of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa.
“[He] asked me this question, ‘so bishop-elect Romy, what are the things that you will remember in Guam?’ With that question, I must search the depths of my heart and not just answer from the top of my head. I was silent for a moment, and then I said, ‘it's the people. The people take you as their own. You belong, or I say, I belong. You are family.’ My deeper realization was that when I joined the ministry in the Archdiocese of Agana, the people that I met in the different villages accepted and loved me as their own.”
Convocar continued that the warmth, the love, the care of the people of Guam made him feel that he truly was part of the greater Guam family.
“And with that mindset and understanding or viewpoint, I now realize that the sacrifices rendered, the many self-denials, the passion in the ministry, the pastoralism that was shown, were not just coming from the mundane of what I am supposed to do as a priest, but more so was a reciprocation or a great response to the love and the generosity that the people have come to know and serve has shown me. This, I truly cherish. I am grateful. And, so to you, people of Guam, sorry...my Guam family, thank you.”
Prior to his appointment as the new bishop of Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, Convocar spent 14 years in the Sacred Order of Priesthood for the Military Ordinariate in the Philippines and then another 14 years in Guam.
Aside from Jimenez, other members of the Guam clergy as well as the U.S. territory’s government officials, led by Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, attended the ordination and installation of Convocar.
“I just want to say the community and the [Diocese] of Chalan Kanoa is a very lucky group of people to have now Bishop Romeo. Bishop Romeo worked with us very closely during the pandemic and worked with us very closely through the turmoil and tumultuous settlement of the challenges of their legal suit. And he has been very, very forthright and very smart man. He's a smart man. He knows finances and administration very well,” said Leon Guerrero during a brief interview after the rites.
She added that the people of Guam will miss Convocar terribly.
“He's a very compassionate, very loving, and kind person. The people of CNMI are, like I said before, very lucky to have him. We want you to take care of him very much and certainly we'll continue working together as a whole region here in the Marianas.”
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, who along with other CNMI government officials attended the nearly four-hour event, also alluded to Convocar’s skill-full management of getting the Archdiocese of Agana out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
“I heard he's got a good background in trouble situations, so I look forward to working with him. I know he's good. Our people here are very good people and we always accommodate our priests and bishops.”
He then dismissed the earlier uproar following Pope Francis’ appointment of Convocar as the new bishop of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa over homegrown CNMI priests.
“Sometimes, you know, us humans we get into those kinds of things. I think and I believe that that has tapered off. I don't think it's a controversy anymore,” he said.
Diocese of Chalan Kanoa finance director Juan S. Tenorio said the sheer number of people who attended Convocar’s ordination and installation is indicative of how the Catholic faithful in the CNMI looks forward to how they will be led by the new bishop.
“I think that the Commonwealth is very much happy that we have a new bishop, especially from the outside, so that we don't throw [dirt at each other] in the Commonwealth. And I think people, the reception is good. There's almost 2,000 people came today to attend the ceremony, so that shows that people are supporting the new bishop.”
Mt. Carmel School president John Blanco, meanwhile, said he’s really interested in learning from Convocar, especially since the new bishop comes with a distinguished finance and military background.
“I’m looking forward to working with him and getting things started for letting him know our situation here in Mount Carmel. You know, there's a lot of struggles, of course, that we need to address...It's nice to have someone come from a different perspective as opposed to where I'm at right now...I spoke to some of my counterparts from Guam and they're saying that he's a really great person to work with. So, I'm looking forward to that,” he said.
On the controversy of not having a homegrown priest ascending to the position of bishop, Blanco said, in a way, he kind of understood the argument.
“For me, I remember when I was out in the mainland we would run into people from Saipan and there was never an issue of who was Chamorro, who was Carolinian, who was Filipino. We were just all from Saipan and I always found that something that I cherished. So, with Bishop Romy coming here, you know, he showed a very humble mindset. I think that something that would help to, I guess, to temper some of the angst, I guess, that people feel toward whether or not we should have a local bishop. It's not much local. It's about coming from the ranks of Saipan.”
Aside from Jimenez, Archbishop Gábor Pintér, Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand, CEPAC, and apostolic delegate to the Pacific Islands; and Jose F. Cardinal Advincula, Archbishop of Manila, as well as other bishops and priests from around the region attended today’s rites.
The ordination and installation of Convocar started with the bishop-elect being presented to the consecrating prelate and the college of bishops present. The mandate from the Holy See was then read aloud and shown to all.
In the presence of all the bishops and all the faithful, Convocar then expressed his promise to carry out his duties before laying down prostrate on the floor as a symbol of humility.
Pintér, Advincula, and Jimenez then laid their hands on Convocar, who was kneeling before them, and recited the Prayer for Ordination. Two deacons then held a book of the gospel symbolizing the duty of a bishop and sacred chrism oil was poured in his head anointing him and signifying the sacred priesthood of Christ.
Convocar was then presented his bishop’s ring, miter, and crosier or pastoral staff and was then welcomed with a fraternal kiss as the newest brother into the College of Bishops. After the nearly four-hour event, lunch was then served at the Mt. Carmel School Gymnasium.
Convocar is the third bishop of Diocese of Chalan Kanoa after succeeding Jimenez. The latter was bishop of from 2016 to 2024 but prior to that served as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa from 2010 to 2016. Jimenez in turn succeeded the late Bishop Tomas A. Camacho who served from 1984 until his resignation in 2010.
Fr. Charlie Borja has served as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa since Aug. 15, 2024 following the appointment of Jimenez as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Agana.
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Story by Mark Rabago
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