Guam’s new archbishop is well-known throughout episcopal conferences in Oceania and the Pacific.
Pope Francis has confirmed the appointment of Most Reverend Ryan P. Jimenez, Bishop of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agaña.
Locally known
Philippines-born Archbishop-elect Jimenez is currently the president of CEPAC, the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific or Conferentia Episcopalis Pacifici.
He is also the vice president of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania.
The Federation is made up from the bishops conferences of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and CEPAC.
Jimenez is also a consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs.
The new archbishop-elect came as a migrant worker to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1995, where he taught at a Catholic school on the island of Rota.
In 1999, he was accepted into the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa’s seminary programme and was ordained in 2003.
In 2010, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Chalan Kanoa and, in 2016, as its second bishop. He has a Doctorate of Ministry from the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education at Fordham University, the Jesuit University of New York.
Installation Mass
Since March last year, the Very Reverend Romeo Convocar has served as the Apostolic Administrator of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agaña.
He replaced Archbishop Michael Byrnes who resigned due to health reasons.
The Installation Mass for Archbishop-elect Jimenez will be held on August 15, 2024 at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagatna, Guam.
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