The Rites of Thanksgiving for the Canonization of St. Pedro Calungsod, Nov. 30, 2011

Part 1: 

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Part 2:

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Part 3:

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Part 4 (including the first part of the Thanksgiving Mass):

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Part 5 (including the second part of the Thanksgiving Mass):

Two Popes on St. Pedro Calungsod

The section of the Pope's homily during the canonization Mass regarding St. Pedro Calungsod:




From the website of Rome Reports comes the following transcript of the Pope's remarks on the second Filipino saint. Emphasis mine:

Pedro Calungsod was born around the year sixteen fifty-four, in the Visayas region of the Philippines. His love for Christ inspired him to train as a catechist with the Jesuit missionaries there. In sixteen sixty-eight, along with other young catechists, he accompanied Father Diego Luís de San Vitores to the Marianas Islands in order to evangelize the Chamorro people. 

Life there was hard and the missionaries also faced persecution arising from envy and slander. Pedro, however, displayed deep faith and charity and continued to catechize his many converts, giving witness to Christ by a life of purity and dedication to the Gospel. Uppermost was his desire to win souls for Christ, and this made him resolute in accepting martyrdom. He died on the second of April, sixteen seventy-two. Witnesses record that Pedro could have fled for safety but chose to stay at Father Diego’s side. The priest was able to give Pedro absolution before he himself was killed. 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!

This echoes the statement of Pope John Paul II twelve years ago, during his homily at the Mass of beatification for Pedro Calungsod and 43 other martyrs (March 5, 2000):

If anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven" (Mt 10: 32). 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. Today Bl. Pedro Calungsod intercedes for the young, in particular those of his native Philippines, and he challenges them. Young friends, do not hesitate to follow the example of Pedro, who "pleased God and was loved by him" (Wis 4: 10) and who, having come to perfection in so short a time, lived a full life (cf. ibid., v. 13).

San Pedro Calungsod, ipanalangin mo kami!

(10/22/12 - I've replaced the original picture in this post with the following photo from News.Va)

St. Pedro Calungsod, pray that before long, your fellow Filipino martyrs of the Marianas missions will also be recognized and raised to the honors of the altar...

Philippine Daily Inquirer Front Page, October 21, 2012

Way Sukod ang Pagmahal (Love Without Recompense) -- Song in Honor of St. Pedro Calungsod

I first heard this at the performance of the "Teen Saint Pedro" musical in Meralco Theater on October 17 and was quite impressed by it. It was originally written for the beatification of Pedro Calungsod (and other beati) on March 5, 2000.

San Pedro Calungsod: Huwaran ng mga Kabataan

It's official: Bl. Pedro Calungsod will be canonized on October 21, 2012

Pope Benedict XVI held an Ordinary Public Consistory today, during which he created 22 new cardinals and announced the forthcoming canonization on October 21, 2012 of the following beati (listed in the order that they were named by the Pope):

1) Jacques Berthieu S.J., (1838 - 1896), French Jesuit missionary, martyred in Madagascar

2) Pedro Calungsod, Filipino layman, martyred in Guam (d. 1672)

3) Giovanni Battista Piamarta (1841 - 1913), Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth

4) Maria del Carmen (Salles y Barangueras), in religion Carmen de Jesus (1848 - 1911) Spanish foundress of the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Education

5) Barbara Cope (better known by her name in religion, Marianne Cope, 1838 - 1918) German religious of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Syracuse, USA who worked in the leper colony in Molokai

6) Kateri Tekakwitha (d. 1680) American Indian laywoman, the "Lily of the Mohawks"

7) Anna Schaffer (1882 - 1925) German laywoman

An MP3 recording of the Pope's announcement of the canonizations can be heard in this page on the News.Va website: Pope Benedict XVI holds Consistory, announces canonizations (beginning at the 2:30 mark). 

It's official: Pope Benedict XVI recognizes a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Pedro Calungsod

From a Catholic News Service article published today:

Pope Benedict also recognized miracles attributed to the intercession of five other people, who now can be declared saints. They are: 

-- Blessed Giovanni Battista Piamarta, an Italian priest who founded the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth for men and the Humble Servants of the Lord for women. He died in 1913. 

-- Blessed Jacques Berthieu, a French Jesuit priest who was martyred in Madagascar in 1896. 

-- Blessed Carmen Salles y Barangueras, the Spanish founder of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. She worked with disadvantaged girls and prostitutes and saw that early education was essential for helping young women. She died in 1911. 

-- Blessed Peter Calungsod, a lay Catholic from Cebu, Philippines, who accompanied Jesuit missionaries to Guam as a catechist and was martyred there in 1672 while he was in his late teens. 

-- Blessed Anna Schaffer, a lay German woman who wanted to be a missionary, but couldn't do so after a succession of physical accidents and disease. She accepted her infirmity as a way of sanctification. Her grave has been a pilgrimage site since her death in 1925.

Deo gratias!

Second Filipino saint, coming soon!

I have just received word that the Cardinals of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints have voted in the affirmative for the canonization of Pedro Calungsod.

Deo gratias!

Is the canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod at hand? And will Cebu be the site of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress?

From an article in today's edition of Sun Star Cebu:

Another news, which came from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome, is that the canonization process of Visayan martyr Blessed Pedro Calungsod is in its final stages. 

Theologians 

“There is development in the canonization process of Blessed Pedro Calungsod, (the investigation) has passed the level of medical doctors. It has also passed the level of theologians,” the prelate (Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu - CAP) said at a press conference yesterday afternoon in his residence. 

“The next step is the (review at the) level of cardinals. Probably his canonization may be announced late this year,” he added. 

It was Blessed Pope John Paul II who beatified Beato Pedro on March 5, 2000 in Rome. The teenager was martyred in Guam in 1672 with a Spanish Jesuit priest, now Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores. 

Archbishop Palma also said the International Eucharistic Congress might be held in Cebu. 

Palma and Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal had lobbied for the event to be held in Cebu with the International Eucharistic Congress president during an earlier trip to Rome. 

Manila 

The last time such a gathering was held in the country was in Manila in 1937.

The 50th International Eucharistic Congress will be held in Dublin, Ireland next year. At present, IEC's are held every four years (the last IEC was held in Quebec City, Canada in 2008). 

The International Eucharistic Congress held in Manila was the 33rd. 

(Please refer as well to my earlier blog post on Blessed Pedro Calungsod's possible canonization.)