Blessed Pedro Calungsod- a Filipino Saint in the Making
81
Want to earn money?
Click here to join hubpages free to earn money?
How to have your hubs get high rank in google
Benefits derived from writing for hubpages
 | Amazon Price: $3.95 |
Blessed Pedro Calungsod
- Calungsod's canonization on Oct. 21, 2012
- other accounts about Blessed Pedro Calungsod
- accounts about St. Lorenzo Ruiz
- lives of sts. Peter and Paul
<> <> <>
Pedro Calungsod is a Filipino. He saw the first light of day in Molo, Iloilo City circa 1655. He went to Cebu and was tutored by the Spanish Jesuit missionaries as a catechist, then studied also under the Jesuit in the town of Loboc, Bohol before joining the evangelization movement in Guam. He could read, write and speak the local Visayan dialect, Spanish and Chamorro.
Together with fellow 17 boy catechists, including himself, Calungsod sailed to the Ladrones Islands in the western Pacific in 1668 with some Spanish missionaries from the Philippines led by Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores to convert the Chamorros to the Catholic faith. Padre Diego is credited to have covered places in his missionary work from 1662 to 1667 Taytay, Manila, Sta. Ines, Sta. Barbara, Marilaya, Mindoro, etc, all in the Philippines.
The missionaries experienced severe hardships in the Ladrones. Thick jungles and stiff cliffs barred their ways. Devastating storms and bad weather frequented the islands. What problem pestered them most was their food supply and other missionary provision which failed to come at expected time.
Despite the difficulties, the missionary team persevered; their Mission counted with plenty of converts. By this time the missionaries earned remarkable milestone by renaming the Ladrones Islands to “Marianas” in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the Queen Regent of Spain Maria Ana who shouldered the Mission.
Converts had their children baptized by the missionaries and some of the baptized Chamorro infants especially those that were weak and sickly died. Choco- a Chinese quack- saw in this a chance to improve his trade. Envious of the remarkable gain that the missionaries were reaping among the native Chamorros, Choco began to spread rumor that the baptismal water contained poison thus the death of some infants.
Choco convinced many of the newly Chamorro converts who quickly renounced their faith. Choco’s evil campaign was supported by the sorcerers called Macanjas and young male prostitutes call Urritaos who, in connivance with the apostates, started the move of persecuting the missionaries.
April 2, 1672- a Saturday immediately before the Passion Sunday of that year- is an indelible assault day perpetrated against the missionaries.Calungsod then about 17 years of age and the mission superior Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores visited Tomhom (now Tumon a main tourist district) a village in Guam to baptize a newly born baby girl. The baby girl was Mata’pang’s child. Mata’pang was the Chamorro chief of Tomhom. They asked Mata’pang for permission and to bring out the baby. But Mata’pang though a Christian friend of the missionaries, angrily refused to have his baby baptized. Mata’pang became Choco’s convert and had already renounced his newly found Catholic faith.
Mata’pang was afforded time to cool down. At the shore nearby Padre Diego and Calungsod treated the children and some adults with religious songs and hymns.Mata’pang- when invited to join the group- only shouted that he was already fed up with God and the Christian teachings.
Chief Mata’pang hatched a sinister plan to kill the missionaries. He went to a non-Christian village Chief Hirao to help him implement his evil motive. Chief Hirao, fully aware of the kindness and humane treatment of the missionaries towards the natives, refused assistance. Mata’pang belittled Hirao’s person by calling him a coward. Hirao didn’t like being branded a coward so he gave Matapang his consent.
While Mata’pang was away enlisting the help of Hirao, Padre Diego and Calungsod took advantage of the situation by baptizing Mata’pang’s baby girl with the permission of the Christian mother.
Mata’pang got mad upon learning of the baptism of his child. Furious, he aimed a spear in the direction of Calungsod but swiftly darted away from the on-coming deadly weapon. Calungsod who was agile and in the prime of youth, said authoritative witnesses, could have overcome their aggressors if he was armed but Padre Diego never consented to have his companions bring weapons. Finally, a bone-tip spear found its mark in Calungsod’s chest. The brave boy fell to the ground where Hirao came brandishing and finishing him off with a blow of his home-made machete in the head. Padre Diego administered to the fallen sacristan and catechist the sacramental absolution. The assassins were not contented killing Calungsod, they likewise speared Padre Diego and hacked him to death with the machete.
The crime took place near the ocean. The tale of the murder that was handed from generation to generation told of the ocean turning red on that fateful day.
Mata’pang took hold of Padre Diego’s crucifix and smashed it to pieces while uttering unholy words against God. Mata’pang and Hirao took the clothes off their victims and with large stones tied to them, dumped them into the sea. The remains of the martyrs, it is said, were never recovered.
Josephine Darang of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, in her article “Blessed Pedro Calungsod a candidate for canonization …” bore witness to the truth that the body of Pedro Calungsod was thrown into the sea as told to her by Cathedral Rector of Pasig Fr. Roy Rosales.
Pope John Paul II beatified Pedro Calungsod on March 5, 2000 at St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Calungsod's feast day is celebrated April 2. It is believed Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores’ beatification in 1985 paved the way for Pedro Calungsod to be given the same honor.
The postulator of the cause for making Pedro Calungsod the 2nd Filipino saint-to-be is Fr. Fernando Rojo, OSA. The major miracle attributed to the Blessed Pedro Calungsod was his waking up of a woman who had been pronounced dead for 2 hours without suffering brain damage. Doctors attested it was medically unexplainable. This miracle was submitted to the Congregation of the Causes of Saints to be approved during a meeting of Cardinals by February 2012 and if the meeting turned fruitful, Blessed Pedro Calungsod will be canonized that year.
vote upvote downshareprintflag
- Useful (4)
- Funny
- Awesome (1)
- Beautiful (1)
- Interesting (2)
CommentsLoading...
Meo (Romeo Bayno, Tuburan, Cebu), let me congratulate you for posting a detailed synopsis of your faith and the benefits now being reaped by your children because of the heroic struggle you and your children have undergone just to provide a bright future. With the intercession of Blessed Calungsod, I pray that God may grant you more. I see that you've the makings of a writer, a rare talent that you can develop here in hubpages. You may try as well as others by visiting the appropriate link found in this hub above. Thank you Meo and may you serve as a model for those who go astray from God's way.
thanks for this wonderful information.i will post this to my page in facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-Love-Cebu/1901898 this time Pedro Calungsod is so busy praying for the people here in Philippines asking for his prayers to our Almighty Father through our Sviour Jesus Christ.Truly saints can help us through their prayers
We Filipinos should be thankful to have HIM died in the service of the Lord to help in the redemption of mankind. Hope this hub helps better understand his life and fellow missionaries in spreading the faith during those darkest hours. Thanks for the visit, Denden.
Romeo Bayno 5 months ago
A Prayer Early Answered, Lately Recognized
One Friday night after we had our dinner, I went to the dark BPC Hall of ACC and found out that the altar where there is the enthroned framed Beato , don't have flowers. I was so disappointed why the flower arrangers of the weekend failed to include its altar when in fact, I always bring flowers every weekend during the formation. So out of my concern, I went outside and pick bougainvilleas and arranged it in a flower vase and placed it on the altar.
I am a volunteer catechist of the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Anthony of Padua, Tuburan, Cebu. Our parish sent us to this Basic Catechist Formation Program of the Archdiocesan Catechetical Ministry. This is a 17 weekend catechist training program of the Archdiocese of Cebu. The venue of this catechist training program is at the Archdiocesan Catechetical Center, along C. Mina Steet, Mabolo, Cebu City. This is just at the back of the Mabolo Parish Church..
Just call me Meo, 53 years of age, a father of three (3) grown-ups and a grandfather of a five (5) year old boy, by my eldest daughter. My wishes for them, is to have them finish their respective college education and for me to be able to fulfill this, I worked hard for my children. I sent them to a good school, a member of Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) because I wanted them to have a good foundation in Catholic learning, because I came from a Catholic family, a branch of a devout Catholic family members whose other branches went already astray. It’s only us in my father’s, because my other uncles and aunts had shifted to different religions or to other Christian faith. My family was a happy one, until a problem came-up that started when I lost my job that made me to distance myself from them. Disintegrated myself from my family, and ended-up in my church volunteer works, and opted to live separately in my hometown. This story of mine is about how; my prayer was answered with his intercession, the Blessed Pedro Calungsod.
When our formation class resumed that night, Sister Maricor informed us that the scheduled viewing of Cardinal Rosales video can't be shown because, she cannot locate it. Instead, she showed us a documentary made by a priest about the beatification rite of Pedro Calungsod Sometime in March, 2000. While the viewing is going on, a memory on that event came-up to my mind, when I saw those carozzas from different parishes and the procession of the Beato. I remembered that on that particular event, I was there! And it's not just that I witnessed that occasion but I remembered about my little and short prayer to him when he passed-by me on that procession. I said to him: Now, you are already a Beato, and I was told by the priests on that event that you can intercede for us.Please help me in my problem. I am now an unemployed when our company was closed last month. My daughter Ivy, cannot proceed to her 2nd year proper in Business Administration. My son cannot proceed to college after graduating at the Holy Rosary School of Pardo. He told me that if he cannot go to college, he will just go to Manila and join her aunt working in Divisoria. My youngest daughter will have to enroll as first year high school also at the Holy Rosary. Our finances were in turmoil. A collected payment in form of a check from an exporting company whom I supplied with handicrafts, bounced. Don't have money since my wife is jobless since my kids were still young. Our apartment rental has long been overdue and we will be ejected (we really were ejected, eventually). Our light and water is in danger of cutting-off. That was my prayer that he will just help my children.
My tears run-down to my cheeks because I just remembered that, that prayer of mine has long been answered because, God helped me for my children. When enrollment time came in May, a miracle happened. Ivy, the eldest passed a scholarship from the College of Commerce in University of San Jose Recoletos. My only son passed also a Norwegian shipping company sponsored scholarship at the University of Cebu. My youngest child who is about to go to high school after graduating from that same school, just opted to transfer at the nearby public high school for no choice.
I only realized this after eleven years and eight months that that was an answered prayer. My children today have lives of their own after finishing their respective courses. The eldest Ivy, after years working in a stable hardware store opted to shift career in a well-paid call center industry got married to an engineer. My son even though he didn't finished his apprenticeship in a Norwegian shipping company because of an accident that cost his lower left leg, now enjoying his damage-claim that gave him his 2 houses and lot, bank deposit and monthly pension and now working also in a BPO industry. The youngest after her time in the College of Mass Communications, USJR, now works in a BPO industry. These are my graces from God and I am counting on these.
I collected all my thoughts during that night. Those events in my life that lead me to become a church volunteer and a catechist are all God’s plan for me. It was just a sort of a calling. And I realized that it was him who made that call, for me to continue his unfinished mission, not in Guam, but to the much needy children in our town. I can endure all the hardships , far from my family, my loneliness , and I know I can fight these through his continuing intercession and the continuing intercession also of the Blessed Mother, the ever Virgin Mary, the co-Redemptor and Mediatrix of all Graces.
And for those who may read this, please pray for me also.