[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17444]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 17444]]

         HONORING THE LATE REVEREND MONSIGNOR OSCAR LUJAN CALVO

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 7, 2000

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, the island of Guam recently lost a well-
loved and respected religious leader. The Very Reverend Monsignor Oscar 
Lujan Calvo, a peacemaker, historian, and teacher, was called to his 
eternal rest on July 28, 2000, a few days shy of his 85th birthday. The 
third Chamorro to be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest, Monsignor 
Calvo tended to the island's faithful during the dark days of Japanese 
occupation during World War II. He later chose to work towards healing 
the wounds caused by the war and towards the preservation of Chamorro 
history and culture.
  Known more commonly as Pale' `Oscat, and more affectionately as 
``Pale' Scot,'' Monsignor Oscar Lujan Calvo was a renowned figure in 
the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy as well as in the history of Guam. 
Born in the city of Hagatna on August 2, 1915, Monsignor Calvo received 
primary instruction on Guam. At the age of thirteen, he went to the 
Philippines to attend the San Jose Preparatory Seminary. He returned 
home thirteen years later and was ordained on April 5, 1941, joining 
Father Jose Palomo and Father Jesus Duenas, as the only other Chamorros 
in the Catholic priesthood of that era. He celebrated his first Mass on 
Easter Sunday, April 13, 1941. Eight months later, on December 8, 
Japanese Imperial Forces attacked Guam.
  During the occupation, Monsignor Calvo conducted secret Masses in 
direct defiance of regulations forbidding him and Guam's two other men 
of the cloth, Father Jesus Baza Duenas and Baptist minister, Reverend 
Joaquin Sablan, from practicing their faiths. Upon the execution of 
Father Duenas at the hands of the Japanese occupiers, the burden of 
tending to the island's faithful, roughly 20,000 Roman Catholics, 
rested solely upon the monsignor. This difficult task was gladly 
accepted by the monsignor. He performed with grace and distinction. 
During this period, the monsignor also made an attempt to preserve 
valuable church records and artifacts by secretly removing the church 
valuables to a safer location. Unfortunately, these items were not 
spared from the intense American bombardment during the liberation of 
Guam. Records of births, deaths and marriages dating back to the 1700s 
were destroyed. It was this immense loss that inspired Pale' `Scot to 
become such an avid collector of artifacts and written materials about 
Guam and its people.
  After having undergone the trials and tribulations brought about by 
the war, the good monsignor worked hard to heal the wounds it had 
caused. He played a major role in the establishment of the Guam Peace 
Memorial Park. This park, funded entirely by private Japanese 
donations, was dedicated as a tribute in memory of the Japanese and 
Chamorros who died during the war. In recognition of his efforts to 
promote peace, friendship and goodwill, the Japanese Government 
conferred upon him its distinguished Order of the Rising Sun with gold 
and silver rays. He was the first American to receive this prestigious 
award.
  Monsignor Calvo was awarded the title of Honorary Papal Chamberlain 
in 1947. A charter member of the Fr. San Vitores Council of the Knights 
of Columbus, he was elevated to the order of 4th degree knight in 1968. 
The monsignor was inducted a knight in the Sovereign Military 
Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta, 
with the title of Magistral Chaplain in 1977. During Pope John Paul 
II's visit to Guam in 1981, the monsignor received the ``Kiss of 
Peace'' from the pontiff.
  A lifetime spent serving the Church and the people of Guam culminated 
last year with the dedication of the Monsignor Oscar Lujan Calvo 
Gallery at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagatna in 
December. The museum is a fitting tribute to a man who has been a 
spiritual advisor, a civic leader, a historian and teacher. It houses a 
vast number of the historic documents, books, publications, 
photographs, and artifacts the monsignor has carefully collected and 
lovingly preserved over many years. With the dedication of the 
Monsignor Oscar Lujan Calvo Gallery, we were granted the opportunity to 
benefit from the monsignor's diligent efforts to preserve, protect, and 
promote Chamorro culture and history.
  It is an impossible task to give an exact accounting of the 
monsignor's laudable accomplishments and vast contributions to the 
island of Guam. The legacy he leaves behind is unequaled. I join his 
family and the people of Guam in celebrating his life and 
accomplishments and mourning the loss of a truly great man. Adios Pale' 
Scot.

                          ____________________