Then-Pope John Paul II ordained Camacho as bishop on Jan. 13, 1985.
The Most Reverend Appolinaris W. Baumgartner ordained the bishop as a priest to Guam’s Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral 50 years ago or in 1960,
Born on Sept. 18, 1933 to Vidal Palacios Camacho and Maria Borja Aguon, the bishop showed special interests in spiritual things and a devotion to serve his people even at an early age.
His spiritual journey began at age 12 when he became an altar boy at a church run by a Spanish Jesuit priest.
Camacho graduated from Chalan Kanoa Elementary School in 1948 and entered Father Duenas Memorial School as a seminarian.
In1953, Camacho became the first person from Saipan to graduate as a seminarian.
Two years after, he left the island to pursue philosophical and theological studies in California’s Saint Patrick Seminary.
After earning his theological degree in the U.S., Camacho went to Guam where he was ordained as a priest.
He returned to Saipan in 1976 to serve his people.
As a priest, the resolution stated, Camacho fed the spiritual hunger of his people who in the early 1970s saw great economic challenges.
Throughout those years, the people relied on Camacho’s spiritual wisdom for their economic salvation, the resolution added.
The bishop, who is known for advocating a simple lifestyle, underwent a lung surgery in 2008.
In the same year, he offered his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI in keeping with the Canon Law that requires a diocesan bishop to step down upon reaching the age of 75.
The pope has yet to name Camacho’s successor.
