A spiritual symbol of the faith and resiliency of the people of Saipan
All of us have passed by up and down countless times along Beach Road through Chalan Kanoa and are familiar with that large gray Church – Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cathedral alongside the road that is an iconic landmark in Saipan where nowadays, tourists gathered throughout the day to take photos.
Indeed, all of us have been too familiar with Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cathedral that perhaps we have lost the sense of awe and understanding on the significance of this Church to the people of Saipan.
On December 14, 2019 the famous church of Chalan Kanoa will mark its 70-year anniversary of its Dedication. Bishop Ryan Jimenez will lead the Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving next Saturday at 10:00 AM to celebrate the importance of this church to every faithful in Saipan.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church is indeed a symbol of the faith and resiliency of the people of Saipan even before the first stone was laid down for its construction. One needs to look back in order to understand the social and historical significance of Mt. Carmel Church to the people who survived the horror of the Second World War more than 70 years ago.
The original Mt. Carmel Church was originally located in Garapan (present location of Kristo Rai Church) before the war but it sustained devastating damages during the invasion of Saipan. Immediately after the war, survivor families were relocated in Chalan Kanoa, where they eventually settled down. One of the first things people did was to establish a temporary place of worship. It was the faith that sustained the people during the war and understandably it was to God that they turned to as they strive to rebuild their lives. Therefore, a pre-war public market (presently where the post office is located) temporarily served as a church. Here, the sacraments were administered and the faithful nourished spiritually.
June 7, 1947 was the first official day of the beginning of the construction of Mt. Carmel Church in its present location. It was launched under the guidance of Fr. Ferdinand Stippich and a Jesuit Brother Gregorio Oroqueta as the chief architect. Everyone agreed to replicate the architectural design of the Garapan Church.
Mt. Carmel Church was built literally by the hands of the people of Saipan! Just about everyone turned out for the first day of construction. Everyone, in their own way helped in building the church, from the hard-working men laboring under the heat of the sun to the women cooking food for the workers.
It was a monumental and almost impossible task considering the lack of resources available in the island amidst the suffering of the families trying to rebuild their lives after the war. But God rewarded the faith of the people of Saipan and provided generous benefactors for the completion of the project.
On October 30, 1949, the nearly finished new church became the principal church of a new Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish established by Bishop Apollinaris Baumgartner, Vicar Apostolic of Guam. Tanapag, As Lito, Oleai and Kobler became its mission churches. A couple of months later, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church was Dedicated and became the spiritual home of the faithful, a symbol of their faith and a source of their courage and strength.
Touching the walls of this church is almost like touching the faith of our grandparents and great-grandparents who thanks to their labors, today we have our Mother Church: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cathedral!
