Ryan Pagente Jimenez (born December 18, 1971) is a Filipino-born prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who serves as the current

Metropolitan Archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

of Agaña.

Biography

Early life

Ryan Jimenez was born in

Dumaguete Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it h ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, on December 18, 1971, one of four children born to Rogelio and Lilia Jimenez. He grew up on the neighboring island of

Siquijor Siquijor ( , ), officially the Province of Siquijor (; ), is a Philippines, Philippine Provinces of the Philippines, island province (List of islands of the Philippines, the third smallest in the country, in terms of population and land area) ...

, attending Larena Elementary School there from 1978 to 1984, and then studying at Saint Joseph Seminary in

Negros Oriental Negros Oriental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Oriental (; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Dumaguete, one of the two regional centers of Negros Island Region, with the other b ...

for four years. He entered the San José Major Seminary on the campus of Ateneo de Manila University,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

, and earned his bachelor's degree in 1992. As a member of the Jesuits Volunteers Philippines he worked as a community organizer in the southern Philippines for a year. From 1993 to 1995, he taught at a Jesuit high school in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

, Sacred Heart School for Boys. He then fulfilled his first assignment in the

Northern Marianas The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States consisting of 14 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.Lin, Tom C.W.Ameri ...

, teaching from 1995 to 1997 at Eskuelan San Francisco de Borja, a small Catholic school on the island of Rota. He completed his studies in preparation for ordination at

Saint Patrick's Seminary and University St. Patrick's Seminary and University (STPSU) in Menlo Park, California, is a Roman Catholic undergraduate and graduate seminary whose primary mission is the formation of priests for dioceses in California and the Pacific Northwest of the United ...

Menlo Park, California Menlo Park ( ) is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, California, Eas ...

, earning by 2003 a bachelor's in sacred theology and master's degrees in divinity and in theology. On June 8, 2003, Jimenez was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa by Bishop

Tomas Aguon Camacho Tomas Aguon Camacho (September 18, 1933 – March 5, 2018) was the first Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chalan Kanoa in the Northern Mariana Islands. He served for 25 years as bishop from 1985 until his retirement in 2010. Biography Ca ...

in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral. He next served at

Kristo Rai Church The Kristo Rai Church (or Christ the King Church, from Spanish ''Iglesia de Cristo Rey'') is a Roman Catholic church in the street Kopa Di Oru of the town of Garapan in the Northern Marianas Islands, a dependent territory of the United States in th ...

Garapan Garapan ( Old Japanese name: 柄帆町, ''Garapan-chō'') is the largest village and the center of the tourism industry on the island of Saipan, which is a part of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Garapan, ...

village on the island of

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

from 2003 to 2007. His other assignments included terms as a member of the priests’ council, personal secretary to the bishop from 2003 to 2010, spiritual director of the

Cursillo ''Cursillos in Christianity'' (, "Short courses of Christianity") is an apostolic movement of the Catholic Church. It was conceived in Spain between 1940 and 1949 and began with the celebration of the so-called "first course" from January 7 to 10, ...

movement from 2005 to 2007, rector of the cathedral parish in 2007/08, president of the diocesan commission for the cultural heritage of the Church in 2008/09, and diocesan chancellor in 2009/10. He was also editor of the weekly diocesan newspaper, and Superintendent of Catholic schools. He was

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the diocese from December 28, 2010 to June 24, 2016.

Bishop of Chalan Kanoa

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed Jimenez the Bishop of Chalan Kanoa on June 24, 2016. On August 14, 2016, he was consecrated as bishop by Archbishop

Savio Tai Fai Hon Savio Hon Tai-fai SDB (; born 21 October 1950) is a Hong Konger Prelate who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He served as secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 2010 to 2017. Before that, he was a ...

, secretary of the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...

. On the morning of his episcopal consecration, a cycling event called Bike The Faith celebrated his efforts to build interfaith community. He trained for and ran several marathons while bishop, beginning with the Honolulu Marathon in 2016, then New York in 2017, Bordeaux in 2019, and Chicago in 2021. He continued to further his education through

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

's Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, which provides electronic outreach to hard-to-reach communities. He said he needed to learn about accompanying diverse communities, both the LGBT community and the migrants from diverse traditions who feel unwelcome in unfamiliar institutions. In November 2023, he was elected president of the

Episcopal Conference of the Pacific The Episcopal Conference of the Pacific () (CEPAC) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church that includes the bishops of several islands in Oceania. The CEPAC is a member of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCB ...

(CEPAC). In May 2024, he was elected vice president of a larger umbrella organization, Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO).

Appointment as Metropolitan Archbishop

On July 6, 2024, Pope Francis appointed Jimenez Metropolitan Archbishop of Agaña in

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, its ninth

ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (album) (2011), by Every Little Thing * "Ordinary" (Alex Warren song) (2025) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016 ...

and its fourth

metropolitan archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

. He was installed on August 15, 2024, the Solemnity of the

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Town ...

of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Hagåtña.

References

External links