From Blessed to Saint Pedro Calungsod: Pope gives nod to canonization

CEBU, Philippines - The Vatican confirmed Monday that Pope Benedict XVI has approved the canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod and six others for sainthood.

Calungsod, who was a Cebuano, is set to become the country’s second saint after St. Lorenzo Ruiz.

The Pope last Monday approved a series of decrees by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which include the decrees that testified to the authenticity of a miracle attributed to the intercession of Visayan lay catechist and martyr Pedro Calungsod, Italian Priest Giovanni Battista Piamarta, Spanish religious Maria del Carmen, French Jesuit martyr Jacques Berthieu, German laywoman Anna Schaffer, American laywoman Kateri Tekakwitha, and German religious of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Syracuse, U.S.A. Marianne Cope.

The approved decrees testifying the authenticity of their miracles attributed to their intercession fulfills the requirements for canonization in the cases.

The Vatican though is yet to schedule the date for the canonization.

The Archdiocese of Cebu will release its official statement on Friday when Archbishop Jose Palma comes back from out-of-town engagements.

The Archbishop’s Palace also announced that a press conference will be held on Friday.

The Pope also approved the decrees for certification of miracles of five Servants of Gods namely Servant of God Louis Brisson, French priest and founder of the Oblates of St. Francis of Sales; Servant of God Luigi Novarese, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Silent Workers of the Cross; Servant of God Maria Luisa (nee Gertrude Prosperi), Italian abbess of the convent of the Order of St. Benedict of Trevi; Servant of God Mother St. Louis (nee Maria Luisa Elisabeth de Lamoignon, widow of Mole de Champlatreux), French foundress of the Sisters of St. Louis; and Servant of God Maria Crescencia (nee Maria Angelica Perez), Argentinean professed religious of the Congregation of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Orchard.

They are now eligible for beatification.

His story

Calungsod was beatified by the late Pope John Paul II on March 5, 2000.

His journey to sainthood began in 1672 in Guam where he did missionary work and got killed at the age of 17.

His faith in God at a young age, what he did for others to be saved through his missionary work and the miracles that he has shown through his intercessions have been an inspiration to many youth.

Calungsod was a companion of Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores to the Ladrones Islands, which is now known as Guam.

As missionaries, they had to withstand a dangerous life because the natives then resented the work of missionaries.

Both of them were captured and killed by villagers for catechizing and baptizing the natives including the child of one of their killers.

Fitting culmination

Msgr. Esteban Binghay, Episcopal Vicar of the Archdiocese of Cebu, who also headed Calungsod’s investigation, told The FREEMAN that Calungsod’s canonization will be a fitting culmination of their efforts.

Malipayon ta tanan. Handumanon kaayo ning higayuna sa atong simbahan,” he said.

Together with three others, Binghay said that when they started the investigation on Calungsod’s alleged miracles eight years ago, and since then, they have longed for the day to come.

“Lisod kaayo ang among gi-agian kay we need to gather evidence on his miracles,” he said.

He said that among those they looked into was the case of a woman, who had a severe heart ailment roughly seven years ago.   

According to him, they found three things which led to Calungsod’s canonization and later approved by the Church through the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The first was that the woman, who was in her late 40s during miracle, had “very little hope of recovery,” he said.

With the severity of her heart ailment, the woman, who has been suffering for years, stopped taking medicine and just hoped for a miracle.

The final sign, according to Binghay was when the woman had an “abrupt recovery” from her ailment. “It did not take a long time bisan grabe kaayo iyang sakit, she recovered quickly,” he said.

He also said that this miracle was testified by one of the woman’s doctors, Dr. Manuel Lim, who said prior to the operation, “Please don’t fail me this time.”

Miraculously, after the operations, the woman survived and is still alive through the intercession of Calungsod. – with Ryan Christopher Sorote/NLQ (FREEMAN)