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A most sacred item in the history of the Catholic Church on Guam will make a beautiful return to its original home inside the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica very soon.
The original tabernacle of the present-day Cathedral-Basilica will return to its former home and original location at the upper sanctuary, restoring the Blessed Sacrament to its prominent place in the main church of the Archdiocese of Agaña.
Workers have been busy renovating the sanctuary space of the Cathedral-Basilica for the past three-four weeks without impacting the regular Sunday celebration of Masses.
The date of the actual enthronement of the tabernacle will be announced soon, said Monsignor James Benavente, Pastor/Rector of the Agaña Cathedral. When the work is completed, all will be invited to come and witness the much-anticipated return of the historic tabernacle, said Monsignor James.
“We are very excited about it,” said Monsignor James. “We hope to be able to announce the return of the tabernacle back to the main church, and we’d like to invite the entire faithful of the Archdiocese of Agaña to come out and celebrate with us.”
The original tabernacle was part of the Agaña Cathedral when it was first built in 1958. The previous building was devastated during the Japanese occupation of Guam in World War II. The tabernacle was removed from the main church in 1994 during the construction of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, which annexes one side of the Cathedral-Basilica. The purpose and function of the present Blessed Sacrament Chapel will not be affected.
Monsignor James said the tabernacle has been beautifully refurbished and modified to resemble the holy Arc of the Covenant. It was sent off-island for refurbishment and modification. Statues of two large bronze angels, specially commissioned for this occasion, will adorn each side of the tabernacle which will sit on a newly constructed altar.
To make room for the placement of the tabernacle at its original prominent space at the top-center of the upper sanctuary, the cathedra is being moved a short distance away. The cathedra, also known as the archbishop’s chair, will occupy the lower area of the sanctuary at the same level as the main altar. The expansion of the holy space inside the Cathedral-Basilica will include increasing the area of the main sanctuary slightly and infusing a small amount of wood into the sanctuary floor.
The faithful will see the return of beautiful colorful marble balusters reminiscent of the earlier days of the Agaña Cathedral. Arriving at the Cathedral-Basilica for his first assignment in 1994, Monsignor James noticed that there was a stack of marble which were remnants of the traditional communion rail of the old Agaña Cathedral. They were set aside to be discarded.
“I didn’t know what to do with it at the time, and I didn’t want to throw it away, so what I did was I had it set aside with the hope that at some point we might be able to reuse it,” said Monsignor James. It sat in storage for 28 years. “So, this is the time now.”
Additionally, four large 10 feet of solid Nara wood doors, removed during the 1998 renovation, will make their way back to the main sanctuary to bring more wood accents to the sanctuary in comparison to the overwhelming presence of marble in the sanctuary. Monsignor James worked very closely with architect Andy Cristobal, the original architect of the 1998 renovation, to bring back many of the original pieces of church history out of storage and put them back into our active liturgical celebrations.
Project supported entirely by a donor
Monsignor James emphasized that the entire project is being funded through the donation of a parishioner.
Monsignor James approached Archbishop Michael Byrnes nearly two years ago and asked if the archbishop favored returning the tabernacle to the main Cathedral-Basilica. Archbishop Byrnes gave his enthusiastic blessing. Since the announcement of the return of the tabernacle, Cathedral-Basilica personnel have been distributing information and providing catechesis for the parishioners, preparing and reminding them of the appropriate posture while in the church.
Monsignor James and his team at the Cathedral-Basilica will provide an update very soon.
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Sent by Tony C. Diaz, Director of Communications, Archdiocese of Agana, (671) 562-0065, [email protected] in coordination with Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica.
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Photos by Archdiocese of Agaña
Image includes Monsignor James Benavente, Pastor/Rector of the Agana Cathedral reviewing renovation of the sanctuary floor.
