MANILA, Feb. 20, 2012— The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines lauded the upcoming canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod – a move that makes him the second Filipino saint.
CBCP president Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu said that the recent development is a source of great pride for the Philippines that has only one canonized saint to date.
“It’s a blessing for the whole nation,” said CBCP president Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu.
But more than having a second saint, Church officials see the young martyr’s canonization as more significant in the sense that it only shows that laypeople can also be saints too.
“It shows that our lay persons can respond to call to holiness,” according to Bishop Jose Oliveros of Malolos.
“The fact that he is like St. Lorenzo, a lay person, shows the great importance of non-ordained faithful in the Church in Asia,” said Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of Lipa.
“This is a sign of the growing importance of the Church in the Philippines for the universal Church,” he added.
Calungsod will soon be proclaimed as saint after Pope Benedict XVI recently set his canonization along with six others on October 21 this year.
The teenager from Cebu was martyred in Guam in 1672 with a Spanish Jesuit priest, now Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores.
Calungsod, if canonized, will be the first Visayan saint and second Filipino saint in history following San Lorenzo Ruiz who was proclaimed saint in Rome in 1988.
The prelates also said that the Filipino youth can now have a saint to look up to and emulate.
“He was able to share his faith with others. And he was also young, an inspiration for the youth of today,” said Oliveros.
“Let us ask him to intercede for our country that we remain steadfast in our Catholic faith,” he said. [CBCPNews]