By Trina A. San Agustin
Variety News Staff

THE Archdiocese of Agana will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica by declaring a year of jubilee from April 20, 2007 to April 20, 2008.
The celebration and beginning of the “Jubilee Year of Grace, Joy, and Gratitude” will begin this Friday with a Catholic Mass at 7 p.m. at the basilica, to be celebrated by Archbishop Anthony Apuron, along with clergy members, members of the religious communities, and the Catholic faithful of Guam.
There will be numerous activities throughout the year-long celebration planned by the Archdiocese and the basilica.
“The golden anniversary of the Cathedral Basilica, which will culminate on April 20, 2008, will be highlighted by the visit of His Eminence, William J. Cardinal Levada, the predecessor to the office once held by Pope Benedict XVI, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican City, Rome,” according to a statement from the Archdiocese.
The Cathedral Basilica was built on a piece of property donated to Fr. Diego Luis de San Vitores S.J. from Chief Quipua in 1668.
According to the statement, the structure started as a “small edifice made of wood” and was dedicated as a church on Feb. 2, 1669, under the title of “El Dulcissimo Nombre de Maria.”