[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 28 (Monday, March 16, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO MARY ESSIE UNDERWOOD

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 16, 1998

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, the community of Religious Sisters of 
Mercy, Catholic school system in Guam, and the people of Guam, 
particularly the Underwood and Martinez families are in mourning today 
over the passing of Sister Mary Inez at the age of 91. Though she was 
frail in her final days, she will always be remembered for her energy 
and vitality with which she undertook the establishment of both a Mercy 
convent and a Catholic school system in Guam in 1946 and 1947, 
respectively.
  At the request of Guam's newly-appointed American Catholic bishop, 
Apollinaris William Baumgartner, Sister Inez returned home to her war-
ravaged island to help rebuild not only the island but also the 
Catholic Church in Guam. In the years prior to World War II, the 
predominantly Catholic population of Guam was ministered to by American 
Catholic priests under the direction of Bishop Miguel Olano, a Spaniard 
who continued the centuries old traditions of Spanish Catholicism. In 
rebuilding the church after the war, Bishop Baumgartner brought in many 
new American traditions. The bishop also wanted to formalize religious 
instruction and education. For this task, he called in Sister Mary 
Inez.
  Born Mary Essie Underwood on October 25, 1906, Sister Mary Inez was 
the first Chamorro woman to enter the Catholic religious life. She was 
accepted as a novice in Belmont, North Carolina in 1926, and until her 
death on March 9 of this year, she remained firmly committed to her 
vocation and dedicated to her calling. So much so that in 1946, she 
sought and secured permission to establish the Religious Sisters of 
Mercy Order in Guam. In addition to recruiting students for the Diocese 
of Agana's new Catholic elementary school, Sister Inez also encouraged 
and inspired other women to join the convent. Today, the Mercy Convent 
in Guam is a robust community of well respected teaching professionals, 
most of whom are Chamorro. In the years since the opening of the 
original convent in Agana, Mercy Convents are now established in Tai 
Mangilao, Oka Tamuning, Dedeo, and Inarajan.
  Sister Inez founded the Catholic Grade School and the academy of Our 
Lady of Guam, an all-girls school which continues to produce many of 
the most successful and accomplished women in Guam today. From humble 
beginnings in the devastation of Guam in the aftermath of World War II, 
these two schools were the first of what has grown into a system of 
seven Catholic grade schools, four nursery/child care centers, an all-
male high school and a co-ed high school, attesting to the growth and 
success of Sister Inez's early efforts.
  As a Catholic nun, Sister Inez chose a life of celibacy, and though 
she had no children of her own, there are thousands of children and 
adults on Guam who are proud inheritors of her educational legacy. 
Sister Inez was the daughter of James Holland and Ana Martinez 
Underwood. She now joins them and her brothers and sisters, Eugenia 
Salvano, my father John Underwood, James, Raymond, Nancy Shoffner, 
Rosie Duenas, and Carmen Underwood. In addition to her many convent 
sisters, Sister Inez leaves behind many nieces, nephews, and 
grandnieces and nephews who have had the loving privilege of calling 
her Aunt Mary. I am among them and proud to say, ``Adios, Aunt Mary. Si 
Yu'os un benendisi.''

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