Saturday, September 10, 2016

Guam Investiture

OK - so I'm going to skip over Kosovo a little bit and jump to my current Investiture trip with Cardinal O'Brien: our trip to the Pacific Rim: Guam (USA), Taipei (Taiwan), and Manila (Philippines).

Thursday, September 8 was the investiture in Guam.

We arrived in Guam at 1am on Monday morning, September 5 - after having left Rome at 9:15pm on Saturday, September 3.  One long flight from Rome to Seoul - then a layover - and a flight from Seoul to Guam, USA.

Upon arrival we were greeted with a very traditional green lei made of green leaves and vines.  I wonderful Island tradition of welcome and affection.

We arrived at the airport for some rest (I FaceTime'd home to Mom - as we were 14 hours head of the US East Coast).  The next morning, the view from my hotel balcony:


We then had a few days to adjust to the time zone - 8 hours ahead of Rome.  Took the time to rest, read, and take a dip in the Pacific!

Then, Thursday was the purpose of our trip - the Investiture.  Cardinal O'Brien invested 4 new members into the Order during a very beautiful Mass at the Dulce Nombre de Jesus Cathedral in Hagatna, Guam.  



During the Mass we were presented with flower leis and, at the end of Mass, a statue of Our Lady of Kamalen.  Here is some information about her...




Some photos from the Mass (that I took - so they are all from my perspective in the sanctuary):









Following the Mass there was a lovely banquet at a local hotel.





And a "selfie" when I got back to the hotel...


Guam was a beautiful experience for us.  So good to see people in a part of the world that is among the first to see the new day growing in their spiritual lives and working so hard (through prayer and financial sacrifices) to aid the people of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.








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