FILIPINO BISHOP BAGONG GUAM ARCHBISHOP

HINIRANG ni Pope Francis si Filipino Bishop Ryan Jimenez bilang bagong arsobispo ng Hagåtña sa Guam.



Si Jimenez, kasa­luku­yang nakatalaga sa Diocese of Chalan Kanoa sa Northern Mariana Islands, ay iluluklok bilang arsobispo sa Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica sa Hagåtña (dating Agaña) sa August 15.

Magmula nang magbitiw si Archbishop Michael Byrnes noong March 2023 dahil sa health reasons, si Filipino priest Fr. Romeo Convocar na ang nagsilbing Apostolic Administrator ng Agaña Archdiocese.

“I look forward to being available to Guam and doing my best with the grace of God on my news mission for the people of the Archdiocese of Agaña,” wika ni Jimenez sa isang panayam sa Guam local news KUAM.

“I never imagined [being an archbishop.] Even the priesthood was not in my mind when I came here. I came here as a migrant worker and teaching was my first passion, and still is my passion but in a different platform now,” dagdag pa niya.

Si Jimenez ay ipinanganak sa Dumaguete City noong 1971. Lumaki siya sa neighboring island province ng Siquijor.

Nakuha niya ang kanyang bachelor’s degree sa pre-divinity sa Ateneo de Manila University noong 1992.

Bago itinalagang arsobispo, si Jimenez ay naging ikalawang obispo ng Diocese of Chalan Kanoa noong 2016.

Si Jimenez ay kasalukuyang presidente ng Conferentia Episcopalis Pacifici, at vice president ng Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania.

Isa rin siyang consultant sa United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs.