A misunderstood man behind the misconstrued mission

The Archdiocese of Agana’s campaign for the canonization of Diego Luis de San Vitores summons accounts of the Jesuit priest’s role in Guam history

 

By Raquel Bagnol

 The Archdiocese of Agana has formally initiated the process of canonizing Diego Luis de San Vitores, a Jesuit missionary and martyr whose name is commemorated on the main street in Guam's tourist district.

His arrival marked a tragic episode in the island’s history, but he left a legacy that shaped its spiritual landscape, converting the local population into a devout Catholic community.

Archbishop Ryan Jimenez has announced that on Sept. 1, the archdiocese turned over several items associated with Blessed Diego to Blessed Diego Church in Tumon, including his cassock, the machete that ended his life, a painting of his image, and a letter he wrote.

“In the months ahead, education and devotion initiatives will be developed for parishes,” the archdiocese said.

Fr. Francis X. Hezel, a Jesuit priest who has documented several aspects of Micronesian life, said San Vitores was still widely misunderstood today. Records are filled with conflicting accounts about his character.

Who was Diego Luis de San Vitores?

Born Nov. 12, 1627, in Burgos, Spain, the boy from a wealthy family decided at age 11 to become a Jesuit. His parents resisted, hoping he would pursue a profession that promised status and wealth. They sent him away for three weeks to keep him from running off to join the Jesuits. It didn’t work.

After two years, San Vitores entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1640 and was ordained in 1651. He later asked his father to change his middle name from Jeronimo to Luis. He taught for a time in Spain, but his ambitions stretched far beyond Europe. He dreamed of missionary work in China or Japan. Instead, his superiors sent him to the Philippines.

San Vitores left Spain in 1660 but was stranded in Mexico for 18 months while waiting for a ship. He preached in Mexico City before finally continuing his journey.

In 1662, his ship stopped on Guam. He met the CHamoru people he felt he was meant to serve. He vowed to return.

He spent six years in the Philippines repeatedly petitioning Jesuit authorities and King Philip IV for permission to establish a mission in the Marianas. On June 15, 1668, he sailed back to Guam with a small group of missionaries, soldiers and helpers.

Chief Magalahi Kepuha of Hagåtña welcomed San Vitores and granted land for the mission. San Vitores began teaching, baptizing and building churches.

For a time, the mission progressed smoothly. But the Jesuits’ efforts to introduce Christianity collided with CHamoru beliefs about ancestors, spirits and death. The missionaries baptized infants, urging families to abandon traditional practices. Many CHamorus resisted.

Tensions escalated when Choco, a Chinese resident of Guam, spread rumors that the baptismal water was poisonous. In an era of high infant mortality, the claim gained traction. Parents saw foreign priests pour water on their babies and some children died soon after. Fear grew.

Violence followed. Some CHamorus fought back. The Spanish soldiers were increasingly used to protect the missionaries.

By 1671, CHamoru fighters surrounded the mission in Hagåtña. Typhoons, food shortages and forced relocations worsened the unrest. Cultural conflict, sickness and fear created a volatile mix.

On April 2, 1672, San Vitores and his young Filipino catechist, Pedro Calungsod, traveled to Tumon. They learned that the local chief, Matapang, had a newborn daughter. San Vitores wanted to baptize her. Matapang refused, resenting the missionaries and their intrusion into CHamoru life.

While Matapang left to gather weapons and an ally, San Vitores baptized the baby. Catholic accounts later said the child’s Christian mother consented, but historians have questioned that claim.

From San Vitores’s perspective, the baby’s salvation outweighed the danger. From the CHamoru point of view, he violated parental authority and crossed cultural boundaries.

When Matapang returned, he and his ally attacked. Calungsod and San Vitores were killed. Their bodies were stripped, weighted, and thrown into the sea. San Vitores was 44.

San Vitores was nearsighted. During his travels, companions sometimes tied a rope around his waist to guide him so he wouldn’t walk into trees or rocks.

In his book “Journey of Faith: Blessed Diego of the Marianas,” Hezel wrote that San Vitores refused to wear eyeglasses because he considered them a luxury inappropriate for someone serving the poor.

Hezel wrote that San Vitores joked about having no teeth to chew fish or meat. He slept on the ground without a mosquito net. Despite his aristocratic upbringing, he embraced poverty and simplicity.

In an email to Pacific Island Times, Hezel described San Vitores as a pacifist—rare for his era. When the governor of the Philippines offered soldiers to protect the mission, San Vitores initially refused, saying he came to bring peace, not conquest. He feared soldiers would worsen relations with islanders.

After years of sporadic violence, San Vitores reluctantly agreed that some military protection was necessary. He died before seeing whether his concerns were justified.

Hezel said San Vitores was not ambitious but determined. His family was well-connected. He used those connections to secure permission for the mission. But his goal was simply to share his faith with people he believed had been overlooked.

Older historians, Hezel noted, often portrayed San Vitores as stern and single‑minded, missing his playful side. He sang songs to children, joked with villagers and was called “God’s troubadour.”

He wore a mix of his Jesuit robe and local clothing. Hezel said earlier historians also failed to appreciate how deeply San Vitores loved the CHamoru people. His mission, Hezel argued, was not driven by obligation but by affection.

Hezel acknowledged that San Vitores’s mission had profound consequences. Some view him as kind‑hearted but believe his arrival triggered disastrous changes. The population decline in the Marianas was severe, though largely caused by disease rather than warfare. The impoverishment of the CHamoru people worsened after the Spanish‑CHamoru Wars ended around 1700–1725.

Hezel said even those who try to correct the historical record often misunderstand what happened, why it happened and how it affected islanders. He also noted that CHamoru culture survived—sometimes mixed with or hidden behind Catholic traditions—and was passed down through generations.

San Vitores’s legacy is complex. He introduced Christianity, built churches, preached, baptized and documented the CHamoru language. He made enemies. He crossed cultural boundaries. He died violently because he refused to abandon his mission. He was persistent—some might say stubborn—from childhood onward.

For Catholics, San Vitores is a martyr who remained faithful even in the face of death. For historians, his arrival marked the beginning of sweeping changes that reshaped Guam. For many CHamorus of his time, he represented unwanted disruption and a threat to their traditions.

In 1985, Pope John Paul II beatified San Vitores in Rome. More than 350 years after his death, people still debate what his legacy means.