Escorted by Bishop Ryan and the incardinated priests of the diocese, Bishop Emeritus Tomas A. Camacho entered Mt. Carmel Cathedral one last time and was laid to rest in one of the crypts under the sanctuary.
In a solemn Funeral Mass presided by His Excellency Ryan P. Jimenez, the faithful of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, bid farewell to their first bishop. The liturgy was concelebrated by Coadjutor-Archbishop Michael J. Byrnes of Guam as well the priests of the diocese and the visiting clergy from Guam and the Caroline Islands.
The entire funeral liturgy from the transfer of the body in a back of a truck from the hospital to the Responso and public viewing in the cathedral and the Mass and burial was marked with simplicity and dignity as specified in the will of Bishop Tomas.
He did not wish for people to spend money in flowers instead he asked that the money be put instead in the Clergy Retirement Fund. Even at the end he was thinking of his priests.
Continuous stream of faithful, family and friends, lined up the main isle of the church as people pay their last respect to their beloved shepherd. Local government officials headed by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and his First Lady Dianne paid tribute as well to the first local bishop of Saipan.
His two closest friends, Msgr. Brigido “Bibi” Arroyo and Msgr. David Quitugua sat next to Bishop Ryan in the sanctuary during the Mass. Msgr. David, who did the homily referred to them as the “Three Musketeers”. They were inseparable since their seminary years. Msgr. David vividly recalled some his memories with Bishop Tomas as well as the trips and pilgrimages they took together as friends.
Fiat Voluntas Tua! (Your will be done) was the episcopal motto of Bishop Tomas. Msgr, David recounted in his homily how Bishop Tomas has done many ‘Fiat’ throughout his life.
In a very moving gesture of farewell at the end of the homily, he and Msgr. Bibi led the congregation in singing the Chamorro hymn of farewell: “Pues adios, Astaki”
At the end of the Mass, Bishop Ryan presided over the Rite of Committal as the six incardinated priests of the diocese, carried the Bishop’s coffin into the crypt of the sanctuary.
When Mt. Carmel Cathedral was built years ago, two vaults were dug under the floor of the sanctuary as burial crypt for the bishops. It is a common Catholic tradition for the bishops to be buried in their own cathedral.
Bishop Emeritus Tomas Camacho is the first bishop buried in Chalan Kanoa Cathedral. He was appointed bishop of the newly-erected diocese in 1984 and he served as spiritual leader of the faithful in the Northern Marianas for more than 25 years until his retirement in 2010. Even in retirement, he continued to shepherd his flock in his quiet residence in Kannat Tabla by faithful praying for the diocese and offering his long illness for the good of the community.
Please check funeral photos here.
