Guam Catholics dedicate day of peace observance to troops overseas

Published: 2004-05-24

MERIZO, Guam (CNS) -- Peace was on their minds and prayer was in their hearts as hundreds of members of San Dimas and Our Lady of the Rosary parishes in the U.S. territory of Guam joined visitors from other villages at a Mass for peace May 16 at San Dimas Church in Merizo. People in the southernmost villages of Merizo and Umatac tied yellow ribbons to trees in front of their homes. They also wore purple ribbons to Mass and listened as parishioners shared emotional stories of their children deployed in places including the Middle East. Joann Chargualaf spoke about her 20-year-old son, Leonard, who is serving with the Marines in Iraq. "Every time I hear the news about someone dying, especially in the Marine Corps, my heart falls. It tears, it cries," Chargualaf told a hushed congregation. The 42-year-old mother said her family and her faith have given her the strength to cope with her son being deployed to Iraq not once, but twice in the last year. "Family support and prayers -- nothing is more important than the prayers," she said.

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