HAGåTñA (GUAM)
Guam Daily Post
June 2, 2025
By Nestor Licanto
A Mass for the late Michael J. Byrnes, Roman Catholic archbishop emeritus of Guam, is scheduled for Saturday at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagatña.
“All are invited to join in praying for the repose of the soul of our dear former shepherd of the church on Guam and for (the) consolation of his family,” according to an announcement Monday by the Archdiocese of Agana,
The Office for the Dead will be prayed at 9:30 am., followed by the Mass at 10 a.m.
In the event of an overflow crowd, “the cathedral makes provisions not only with the cry room to the side but opens the smaller chapels and incorporates a widescreen. They have speakers outdoors with tents at times,” Tony Diaz, communications director for the archdiocese, said.
The former archbishop of Agaña died on Saturday morning, Guam time, at the age of 66, while in hospice care in his home state of Michigan.
He first arrived on Guam on Oct. 31, 2016, as the coadjutor archbishop appointed by Pope Francis in the midst of a clergy sex abuse scandal that ultimately saw the ouster of his predecessor, Archbishop Anthony Apuron.
Byrnes was formally named Archbishop of Agaña in 2019. He resigned in March 2023 as his illness, later identified as Alzheimer’s disease, had progressively worsened.