"This is a powerful message of unity by a wise and humble leader. Our prayers are with you." says Pastor Ray Kinsella, Grace Christian Ministries (GCA) in Saipan.

Bishop-elect of Chalan Kanoa, Ryan Jimenez, has invited people to celebrate his ordination with a bike ride.

Bike the Faith (BTF) is not a race. It is a faith-raising fundraising journey.

It will raise funds for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Marriage Encounter and the Solomon Islands Catholic Community

Jimenez said BTF is an inter-faith event "to integrate my advocacy for healthy living for our community along with strengthening our faith."

The primary beneficiary is the Solomon Islands Catholic Community, "our sister community with great needs to minister to our fellow Catholics there."

The Marriage Encounter local program will be able to continue to advocate for healthy families with its various programs.

The bike riders will go up Navy Hill to GCA for a prayer with Pastor Ray Kinsella. They then its on to Kristo Rai Church for a prayer.

Then they will ride to Life in the Son Church at Gualo Rai to receive blessings with Pastor Eric Abragan.

After that they head for Saipan Community Church and Pastor Roger Abe for beachside blessing.

Finally the bikers visit the ordination location at the Mount Carmel Cathedral for the celebration and final blessing by Pale Ryan aka soon-to-be Bishop Ryan.

Source

• mvariety.com
• Image: mvariety.com

Immigration and same-sex marriage are among these issues, Jimenez said.

He is not saying he's for same-sex union, and it's not his place to state church policy on the topic, he said.

He says he does want to promote respect for people, regardless of who they are.

At a press conference, after his appointment was announced he mentioned Pope Francis' public statement almost three years ago.

"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?"

The immigration issue in the Northern Marianas includes the plight of displaced foreign workers, some of whom are from the Philippines.

A U.S. immigration limit on how many foreign workers can get work permits in the Northern Marianas each year, could send hundreds of Northern Marianas workers back to their home countries if they fall out of legal immigration status.

When Jimenez's appointment was made public, he was heading to Saipan's neighbouring island, Tinian, to visit a group of Filipino workers who hadn't been paid for months.

Jimenez makes it part of his routine to be in touch with the community he serves, whether it's at a casual coffee shop for breakfast, or at a dormitory for foreign workers who need food for the soul despite their economic struggles.

Balbina Perez, of the Tinian parish, described Jimenez in the diocese's publication, North Star, as "a people person."

Also called "the smiling priest," Jimenez grew up from humble beginnings on the tiny town of Larena, on the Philippine island of Siquijor.

His parents, Rogelio and Lillia Jimenez, raised him on an island almost the size of Saipan, hundreds of miles from Manila, which is accessible only by boat.

One of his first calls to share the news of his bishop appointment was to his mum, a retired public school teacher who still lives in the town where he was raised.

Source

• guampdn.com
• Image: dioceseofchalankanoa.com

The diocese is made up of the territory of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and is a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agaña.

Jimenez has been the apostolic administrator of the diocese since December 2010.

He was appointed administrator after Bishop Tomas A. Camacho retired in April 2010 at the age of 76.

The diocese was canonically erected on 8 November 1984 by Pope John Paul II. Its territories were taken from the archdiocese based in Guam.

Jimenez, originally from Dumaguete City in the Philippines, was ordained priest in Saipan on June 8, 2003, by Camacho, the first bishop for the now 32-year-old diocese.

He will be ordained bishop on 14 August. Archbishop Martin Krebs, apostolic delegate to the CNMI and apostolic nuncio to various island countries in the Pacific, will be the primary consecrator.

"Entrusted with fulfilling this appointment from Pope Francis through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I will do my best to serve the people of God." Jimenez said in a statement on Saturday.

"Please continue to pray for our Pope, our Apostolic Nuncio, our clergy, religious men and women, and people of God in the diocese."

"Please help me serve the Lord in ways everlasting and pray for me, your servant in Christ."

Jimenez turns 45 in December.

Since his ordination, he has had various roles with the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa including as diocesan chancellor, parochial vicar, rector and superintendent of Catholic schools.

The diocese, which covers 184 square miles on more than a dozen islands, some of them uninhabited, currently has 11 parishes and one mission church.

Catholics make up about 60 percent of the estimated 72,000 people of the Northern Marianas.

Source

• guampdn.com
• Image: umatuna.org

The Diocese of Chalan Kanoa in the Northern Marianas has entered its third year without a new bishop.

Rev. Fr. Ryan P. Jimenez, apostolic administrator for the diocese, said the CNMI will have a prelate "not in our time but in God's time."

"If anything, it's a lesson for us to wait patiently. It's hard but I guess that's where the Lord wants us to be at this time," he said in an interview.

Jimenez said the process of selecting a new bishop is long and begins with the Commonwealth's apostolic delegate in New Zealand.

"He is the pope's representative and he's the one doing all this work of inquiry and background check. He will be the one to let us know if there is a new bishop," he said.

Source

• Saipan Tribune
• Image: Cook Island News