Thousands gather for Calungsod thanksgiving

CEBU CITY, Philippines - The national thanksgiving Mass for the recently bestowed sainthood of 18th century Filipino teen martyr Pedro Calungsod on Friday at the Template had not yet started but thousands of devotees have already flocked to the area.

The second Filipino declared saint by the Catholic Church, Calungsod was a Visayan with a huge following in Cebu City, where a new shrine at South Road Properties was built in his honor.

The Cebu Archdiocese expected almost a million attendees at the celebration led by Cebu Archbishop emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.

Calungsod's image was brought to the shrine in a fluvial procession early Thursday afternoon featuring a replica of a galleon where Calungsod traveled in his mission to Guam, where he was killed.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines reported that over 70 bishops from all over the country including newly appointed cardinal and Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle flew to the southern cityl to witness the thanksgiving celebration.

“People are inspired because we have a new saint. People are looking for someone as a model whom they can emulate,” priest Eduardo Ventic, one of the organizers of the event, said.

Politicians and senatorial candidates for the 2013 polls from both United Nationalist Alliance and Liberal Party slates also attended the thronged gathering.