History

"Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all mankind…" (Mark 16:14). An easy mandate? So it seems to 20th (or 21st) century minds. But most probably, not to the faithful of the Middle Ages when only bishops were authorized to preach. Thus, Dominic de Guzman's founding an order of friars preachers in 1215 in order to combat the Albingensian heresy in Southern France, must have" made the headlines" so to speak. Later, as Spain's colonial empire spread, the intrepid Dominican friars of the missionary Province of the Holy Rosary took their life in their hands sailing to mission lands in the Far East.

And so in 1963 we found them in China where infanticide for newly born baby girls was then customary. The fortunate ones who were found alive by Christians were brought to orphanages built by the friars. In 1891, a group of thirteen Dominican nuns affiliated with the Province of the Holy Rosary. In time, some went to China to assist in caring for the poor cast-off girls, while others worked in the schools in Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Eventually, the sisters increased in number and in 1934 became a diocesan congregation - the "Congregation of the Religious Missionaries of St. Dominic". Thirty years later, in acknowledgment of its usefulness, steadiness and stability, the Holy See issued the congregation the decree "Decretuum Laudis" in 1964, recognizing it as a congregation with pontifical rights. Today the congregation has its apostolates also in Rome, Spain, Portugal, the United States, Chile and Korea.

In 1957, the Dominican Sisters (as they are popularly called) in Taipei were requested by some Catholic military families to set up a school so that their children could receive the Catholic education. The request was honored and Dominican School, Taipei, which later on became a contract school for the Department of Defense (DOD) school system, was established. It was in this set up that the sisters came to know Harold Jacobson, a consultant to all DOD schools. He and other friends in the system suggested that the nuns go to Guam to set up schools, too. "If you need land, "he advised, "seek the help of Elizabeth Guzman."

Consequently in December of 1979, Sr. Loreto Almira, OP, and Sr. Remedios Ignacio, OP, flew to Guam. They first paid a courtesy call on the late Archbishop Felixberto C. Flores who told them that Guam needed day care centers for working parents and a home for senior citizens. Accordingly, in 1980, the sisters opened Dominican Child Development Center in Ordot and in 1986, St. Dominic's Senior Care Home in Barrigada. The nuns next met with Sylvia Elizabeth Perez Guzman and her brother Francis, who were most generous in letting the congregation acquire a large tract of land in Yigo which they had inherited from their mother, the late Isabel Perez Guzman. "Mama would have done the same," declared Sylvia. "She loved the Church." It is on this land that Dominican School now stands. It was only unfortunate that Sylvia Elizabeth Perez Guzman passed away last December 23, 2004. She had been instrumental in putting DCS in the map of Yigo.

The preparatory phase for the construction took almost a year, after which ground-breaking for the school complex finally took place on August 28, 1993 with Most Reverend Anthony S. Apuron, OFMCap., DD, officiating. Present at the occasion were Rev. Mother General Luisa Maria Manteca, OP, Mother provincial Ma. Rosario Chiu, OP, and other sisters from off-island. At the subsequent laying of the cornerstone on March 12, 1994, Msgr. Zoilo Camacho presided. All throughout the construction period, two sisters on Guam were instructed with the supervision and coordination of the project - Sr. Catalina Saligumba, OP and Sr. Zenaida T. Ancheta, OP.

The beautiful cluster of ten buildings is the brainchild of Arizala, Arizala & Associates and JB Jones Architect AIA. Asanuma Corporation did the construction. The demise of Alfredo Y. Arizala on August 17, 1996, one of the architects who designed the buildings was regrettable. He could probably contributed more to the development and beautification of the school. DCS has been awarded as 1999 Yigo's Most Beautiful Establishment, and placed second in the same category for 2000 and 2001.

After seven years of operation, the administration of the Dominican Catholic School with the approval of the Mother General, Sr. Elvira Diez, O.P. and Council decided to put up a Middle School building in response to the numerous requests/petitions coming from the teachers and staff, parents and students in the school community. The construction of the Middle School building started October 13, 2003 with the financial support from the Province of St. Vincent Ferrer through the leadership of Mother Provincial, Sr. Jacinta Pan, O.P. and Council. With the generous help and added assistance of several benefactors and sponsors, the structure (a two-storey building with three classrooms, a computer room, library and a science laboratory) was completed after a year and was inaugurated on November 6, 2004.

The functional and well-designed building that the DCS Middle School students find most useful and enjoyable to stay into is the creation of SMD Corporation headed by Santiago M. David.