SAN PEDRO CALUNGSOD: NEW SAINT

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! 

This is a new clipping from Manila Bulletin:

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/378148/saint-pedro-calungsod#.UISSimlsOs0

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

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:

“

...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.

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.