The first thing I would see is a big cross being held in procession, the first sound I heard was a choir singing the church hymn, “Atan Bithen de Carmen.” At nine years old, I didn’t really think of what it was I was watching, so I never bothered to watch the whole thing.
What I do remember is that after the singing, a man with an accent unfamiliar to I made a speech and mentioning the name of Padre San Vitores, a name I remembered from reading history books and my social studies classes. I forget what he said, but a few years later I realized that the guy talking was a representative of the then Pope John Paul II speaking to our islands faithful of the magnitude of the event they were witnessing. The place these remarks were made was the soon to be Mt. Carmel Cathedral. The date was January 13, 1985, and the occasion, the ordination of Msgr. Tomas Aguon Camacho, the soon to be first local born bishop of the then new Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, who along with our bishop celebrates its 25th anniversary this week.
This special event, held on the same day as San Vitores’ feast of honor and remembrance of being the first to bring Christianity to the Marianas we recall this week brought me to recollect on some of the things I remember about this particular individual. Believe it or not, this video was not the first instance I ever came across the man we simply call “Bishop,” I knew him from the first time I inquired about my parents about a man in scarlet and white whose picture hung on our living room wall for years. The first time I ever met him was as a little kid at a family party as he socialized with the uncle, and seeing him as a familiar face, I shook his hand. The first mass I remember attending that he presided over was the funeral of my grandmother some twenty years ago. I was always curious about the man and didn’t get to know him until I became an altar server and over those years, I got more comfortable around his quiet, yet strong persona.
At first, at every time I had to serve a mass for him at our church, I was always scared to the point where I would freeze in place until the master of ceremonies would tell me when to go to pass him his miter or to proceed to wash his hands. Whatever butterflies may have been in my system however, would soon dissipate just from seeing his friendly approach with all of us. We served at so many of his masses, that our pastor at the time would actually teach us how to facilitate a liturgy he would preside over, to the point where nervousness would be a feeling we never experienced. This may seem weird to some, but for junior high school kids who served for a parish other than the cathedral where they were used to him, it was something that was always admirable by both clergyman and lay minister alike. From learning from how to serve for the man, it taught all of us how to be professional in whatever we did.
Yet the thing that always made me look at Bishop Camacho in a special way was how despite the high title he possessed, he never forgot the fact that even though his hands were not like ours, he was still just like us. He had humble beginnings. He grew up in a big family and helped out around the house just like we did when we were kids. He had to deal with the growing pains all of us endured, along with all the hardships of surviving when left to be independent. He faced a lot of challenges, even during his time of discernment as a seminarian. But through all of those, he never gave up and always kept his focus on what he wanted to accomplish.
For a dignitary like he, surprisingly he comes off at each occasion he shows up to as a very approachable figure, and always eager to meet new faces, a trait similar to the pontiff who appointed him to his position, ever open to sharing a cup of coffee with old friends, and never hesitating to greet little children and other souls with his familiar way of saying “hello.” Many kids find it interesting when he can instantly connect their family lineage just by the simple question of asking who their parents or grandparents were, chances are he may have wed them or possibly baptized them. It is a trait that all of us have kept fond of with our experiences with Bishop.
Throughout the decades he’s served as a priest and in a quarter century as bishop, he has also kept close to his heart the importance in being there for our diocese’s faithful, especially in times of sorrow like a true father would for his children. Where some bishops leave it to parish priests to officiate funeral rites, Bishop Camacho tries his best to be present at almost every funeral held in the Diocese, keeping to the island tradition of coming together in times of bereavement no matter who it may be. A simple act not only appreciated by the family in mourning, but certainly also for the soul he offers prayers for.
We have also shared in his sadness, such as when his mother and sister passed away, and when he as a bishop, officiated over the funerals of such beloved priests as Msgr. Ben Martinez, Fr. Gary Bradley, and Fr. Roger Tenorio, men of faith that the Bishop always turned to when he needed advice and counsel, traits we have always looked to him for.
Despite being old fashioned, he has never lost the instinct of staying young at heart. Where some people his old age barely know how to use a cell phone or even an ATM machine, he constantly keeps in contact with his fellow priests by texting them or e-mailing them with info he cannot pass to them in person. For many manhoben, he is the only bishop they have ever known. And when with them, no matter how old his body may get, the heart that beats inside him still remains vibrant and full of youth.
Bishop has also made it a point throughout the years to promote awareness of good health. He himself has stated that throughout the two decades he has been bishop he has rarely been sick even considering common colds as a “minor malfunction.” He has braved through many physical difficulties, including cancer, all with the prayers to God as well as the prayers of the faithful as his strength. And many times, he has stayed steadfast to maintaining peace and harmony in our community, by speaking up against vices hurting the community such as crime, racial intolerance, abortion, and encouraging us to come to decisions on tackling hot issues as casino gaming, staking his stance as not just a voice in the community, but as a citizen being affected by what goes on as well.
Traits such as this have in turn, inspired many to be a better individual for our islands. Some people touched by this man have gone on to be civic leaders, pillars of education as well as leaders of our government. And what has made them successful was what they learned from being raised by their parents, who put their faith in one God, the same God who we were taught to honor and respect by a person who charted the course to be who he has become: a strong yet humble man who carries on that promise which became his credo, “FIAT VOLUNTAS TUA (Thy will be done)” so that every person who calls these islands home can learn to live life in peace, love, and happiness.
That video which the ordination was recorded on is long gone, and the picture of the bishop I remember placed in an area of profoundness in my living room, will one day start to fade. However the respect that many of us, I included, still remains for the man who went from “goatherd to shepherd” who this week looks back with pride on the twenty five years he has served as our spiritual rock of wisdom, counsel, and faith. As this bishop and this diocese turn silver, we celebrate the mission that he prayed in a little chapel to stay true to, and it has grown to inspire many generations of Catholics both young and old to stay true to their faith. Though the trials of time have now started to take their toll on him, the intercessions of the saints we pray to will continue to give him hope for all of us, even after his time as bishop ceases and a new person takes over to carry out the service he has given us in these twenty five years.
So now we say to Bishop Camacho “inorabuena,” and congratulations on the occasion of his silver anniversary of his ordination. May He who he vowed to serve continue to give him good health and continued happiness now and in the years to come.
Saina Ma’åse Siñot Obispo yan si Yu’us infan binendise håo para todo i bidå-mu para hita ni man katolikon i sangkattan siha na islas Marianas yan todo ayo siha ni umågang i isla-ta iyon-ñiha. For all you do and all you’ve done, thank you.
LUIS JOHN CASTRO
Fina Sisu, Saipan
