Duenas’ friend suggested visiting the Santa Lourdes Shrine in As Teo to which he immediately agreed.
“We arrived at about 1:30 in the afternoon, and I felt the very peaceful and calming nature there,” Duenas said.
He said he immediately felt the presence of the Virgin Mary so he began his prayers at the altar.
As he was praying, he said a busload of tourists arrived and everybody wanted to have their souvenir photos taken at the altar. Duenas said he waited until the tourists left the area, before he asked his friend to have his picture taken at the altar, too.
“We took several pictures. It wasn’t until I had those pictures developed that I realized how special and sacred that shrine is,” Duenas said.
He said each picture came out with fine color and details, but when he saw his picture at the altar, he felt truly blessed and deeply amazed.
“The Virgin Mary was there with me; it wasn’t just a feeling,” Duenas said.
“I believe in the Santa Lourdes Shrine and my spiritual experience is a sign that the Virgin Mary is still calling us to gather and pray for peace and to remember our faith in God and the Holy Trinity,” Duenas said.
One of his spiritual revelations was aired on Fox40 news on March 9, 2008. In the interview, Duenas told
Sacramento reporter Jamie Soriano that he found the image of the Virgin on a palm branch in his backyard in Citrus Heights, California.
Duenas said he was doing some yardwork when he saw what he believed was the image of the Virgin with the baby Jesus cradled in her arms.
“I was just doing my work but for some reason, when I got to the second branch, I had the goose bumps when I saw the image, so I shared what I saw with my family,” Duenas said.
The interview, viewed by almost 10,000 people, can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bXA3hmYXnM.
Duenas said he is planning to come back to the Santa Lourdes Shrine on December 26 and offer a Mass or rosary to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the apparition.
Duenas was born in Dededo on Guam. He had been to Guam only on four occasions since his family moved to California in 1972 and his last visit to the island was in 2004. He now resides in northern California, east of Sacramento. Duenas is married with seven children and three grandchildren.
