A new saint was canonized yesterday! He is San Pedro Calungsod from Cebu and so Cebuanos are so proud of him. He was called "El Visayo" for his native description.
I found it so interesting that San Pedro Calungsod is a 17 year old 17th century martyr!
I found it so interesting that San Pedro Calungsod is a 17 year old 17th century martyr!
This is a new clipping from Manila Bulletin:
Saint Pedro Calungsod
Pope Benedict XVI Canonizes 17th Century Teen Martyr, 6 Others
In Vatican Rites
October 21,
2012, 8:17pm
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope
Benedict XVI canonized the Philippines’ second saint on Sunday, giving one of
the church’s top honors to the 17th century teen martyr Pedro Calungsod before
throngs of Filipinos in St. Peter’s Square.
Cheers went up in the
crowd of about 80,000 when Benedict declared Calungsod a saint and worthy of
veneration by the entire Catholic Church. Benedict named six other saints
Sunday, some of them missionaries like the devout boy from central Cebu province.
Many Filipino faithful
are particularly devoted to Calungsod, who as a teenager went with some Spanish
Jesuit missionaries to Guam in 1668 to convert the Chamorros people. He was
killed when the natives resisted.
“May the example and
courageous witness of Pedro Calungsod inspire the dear people of the
Philippines to announce the kingdom bravely and to win souls for God!” Benedict
said in his homily.
My friend, Emie was very fortunate to be present during the Canonization of St. Pedro Calungsod, and these pictures come from her Facebook. (Remember Emie was my new friend who took very good care of me in Rome.)
From Wikipedia: This is what I gathered about San Pedro Calungsod.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Calungsod
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Calungsod
Saint Pedro Calungsod also known as Pedro Calonsor (born: 1654[3] – died: 2 April 1672) is a Roman Catholicyoung Filipino saint and was a migrant, sacristan and missionary catechist, who along with Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores, suffered religious persecution and martyrdom in Guam for their missionary work in 1672.
While in Guam, Calungsod preached Christianity to the Chamorro people through catechism, while baptizing infants, children and adults at the risk and expense of being persecuted and eventually murdered. Through Calungsod and San Vitores' missionary efforts, many native Chamorros converted to Roman Catholicism.
Calungsod was formally beatified on 5 March 2000 by Blessed Pope John Paul II. Calungsod was officially canonized by Pope Benedict XVI at Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on 21 October 2012.[5]
Regarding Calungsod's charitable works and virtuous deeds, Pope John Paul II declared:
Regarding Calungsod's charitable works and virtuous deeds, Pope John Paul II declared:
“
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...From his childhood, Pedro Calungsod declared himself
unwaveringly for Christ and responded generously to his call. Young people
today can draw encouragement and strength from the example of Pedro, whose
love of Jesus inspired him to devote his teenage years to teaching the faith
as a lay catechist. Leaving family and friends behind, Pedro willingly
accepted the challenge put to him by Fr. Diego de San Vitores to join him on
the Mission to the Chamorros. In a spirit of faith, marked by strong
Eucharistic and Marian devotion, Pedro undertook the demanding work asked
of him and bravely faced the many obstacles and difficulties he met. In the
face of imminent danger, Pedro would not forsake Fr. Diego, but as a
"good soldier of Christ" preferred to die at the missionary's side.
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On
21 October 2012, Pope Benedict XVI canonized
Calungsod in Saint Peter's Square. [1] The
Pope donned a pearl-studded mitre and a cream
pleated Papal fanon, a
special vestment reserved only for the pontiff in the most solemn and rare
liturgical occasions. Filipino Cardinal Ricardo Jamin Vidal concelebrated
with Pope Benedict XVI at
the official canonisation Mass for Calungsod while among the seven new saints
canonised, Calungsod was the only one without a first class relic exposed for
veneration since his body was thrown into the sea. The cutlass knife, a
second-class relic used to hack Calungsod's head and neck however was retrieved
by Cardinal Ricardo Vidal from Guam.
During the papal homily, Pope Benedict XVI maintained that
Calungsod received the Sacrament
of Absolution from Blessed Diego Luis de San
Vitores before his martyrdom and death.
After
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz,
Calungsod is the second Filipino to be declared a saint by the Roman Catholic
Church. The Roman Martyrology celebrates
Calungsod's feast along with Blessed Diego Luis de San
Vitores every 2 April.[24]
We know that these days it is almost an impossibility for anyone to be a Saint, more so, with the youth who have so much distractions... material and technological in nature!
We hope and pray that San Pedro Calungsod will continue to be an inspiration of young people and of the common tao.
We hope and pray that San Pedro Calungsod will continue to be an inspiration of young people and of the common tao.
