PEDRO CALUNGSOD was young native of
the Visayas Region in the Philippines. Little is known about his life. Based on
accounts, Pedro was taught as a lay catechist in a Jesuit minor seminary in
Loboc, Bohol. For young recruits like him, the training consisted of learning
the Catechism, Spanish, and Latin. They would be later sent with the priests to
the countryside to perform daily religious functions as altar boys or
catechists. Some of them were even sent to mission centers overseas to
accompany the Jesuits in their arduous task of proclaiming the Good News and
establishing the Catholic faith in foreign lands. And that was the case of
Pedro Calungsod.
On June 18, 1668, the zealous Jesuit
superior Padre Diego Luís de San Vitores, answering a "special call,"
began a new mission composed of 17 young laymen and priests to the Ladrones
islands. Pedro was one of the boy catechists who went with them in the Western
Pacific to evangelize the native chamorros.
From Hospitality to
Hostility
Life in the Ladrones was
hard. The provisions for the mission like food and other needs did not arrive
regularly; the jungles were too thick to cross; the cliffs were very stiff to
climb; and the islands were frequently visited by devastating typhoons. Despite
all these, the missionaries persevered, and the mission was blessed with many
conversions. The missionaries reached out to the backward poblaciones
(towns) and baptized over 13,000 natives. Capillas (chapels) began to
rise at various sites as Catholic instruction became extensive. A school and
church were even built and dedicated to St. Ignatius of Loyola in the city of
Agadna in the northeast. Subsequently, the islands were renamed “Marianas”
by the missionaries in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the Queen-Regent
of Spain, María Ana, who was the benefactress of that mission.
The hospitality of the natives however
soon turned to hostility as the missionaries started to change the traditional
practices of the chamorros, which were incompatible with Christianity.
The missionaries objected their ancestral worship. The chamorros dug up
the skulls of their dead relatives and kept them as miraculous talismans. These
were enshrined in special houses guarded by native shamans called macanjas.
The chamorros prayed to their ancestral spirits and asked them for good
luck, good harvest and victory in battle.
They also objected to the practice
of young men called urritaos of consorting with young unmarried women in
public houses without the benefit of the sacrament of matrimony because they
considered this as a form of institutionalized prostitution.
They also displeased the upper caste
chamorros called matuas who demanded that the blessings of
Christianity be limited to members of this group. The inferior castes should
not be given the privilege of becoming Christians.
Poisoned Water?
An influential Chinese named Choco
who earlier came from a sunken wreck became envious of the prestige that the
missionaries were gaining among the chamorros. He started to spread the
talk that the baptismal water of the missionaries was poisonous. And since some
sickly chamorro infants who were baptized died by coincidence, many
believed the calumniator and eventually apostatized. The evil campaign of Choco
was readily supported by the matuas, macanjas and the urritaos
who, along with the apostates, began persecuting the missionaries.
The Martyrdom of
Pedro Calungsod
The most unforgettable assault
happened on 2 April 1672, the Saturday just before the Passion Sunday of that
year. At around seven o’clock in the morning, Pedro—by then, about 17 years
old—and the superior of the mission, Padre Diego, came to the village of
Tomhom, in the Island of Guam. There, they were told that a baby girl was
recently born in the village, so they went to ask the child’s father, named Matapang,
to bring out the infant for baptism. Matapang was a Christian and a
friend of the missionaries, but having apostatized, he angrily refused to have
his baby baptized.
To give Matapang some time to
cool down, Padre Diego and Pedro gathered the children and some adults of the
village at the nearby shore and started chanting with them the truths of the
Catholic Faith. They invited Matapang to join them, but the apostate
shouted back that he was angry with God and was already fed up with Christian
teachings.
Determined to kill the missionaries,
Matapang went away and tried to enlist in his cause another villager,
named Hirao, who was not a Christian. At first, Hirao refused,
mindful of the kindness of the missionaries towards the natives; but when Matapang
branded him a coward, he got insulted and so, he consented. Meanwhile, during
that brief absence of Matapang from his hut, Padre Diego and Pedro took
the chance of baptizing the infant, with the consent of the Christian mother.
When Matapang learned of the baptism, he became even
more furious. He violently hurled spears first at Pedro. The lad skirted the
darting spears with remarkable dexterity. The witnesses said that Pedro had all
the chances to escape because he was very agile, but he did not want to leave
Padre Diego alone. Those who knew Pedro personally believed that he would have
defeated his fierce aggressors and would have freed both himself and Padre
Diego if only he had some weapons because he was a very valiant boy; but Padre
Diego never allowed his companions to carry arms. Finally, Pedro got hit by a
spear at the chest and he fell to the ground. Hirao immediately charged
towards him and finished him off with a blow of a cutlass on the head. Padre
Diego gave Pedro the sacramental absolution. After that, the assassins also
killed Padre Diego.
Matapang took the crucifix of Padre Diego and pounded it with a
stone while blaspheming God. Then, both assassins denuded the bodies of Pedro
and Padre Diego, dragged them to the edge of the shore, tied large stones to
their feet, brought them to sea and threw them into the deep. The remains of
the martyrs were never to be found.
When the companion missionaries of
Pedro learned of his death, they exclaimed, “Fortunate youth! How well
rewarded his four years of persevering service to God in the difficult mission
are: he has become the precursor of our superior, Padre Diego, in Heaven!”
They remembered Pedro to be a boy with very good disposition, a virtuous
catechist, a faithful assistant, and a good Catholic whose perseverance in the
faith even to the point of martyrdom proved him to be a good soldier of Christ
(cf. 2 Tim 2:3).
The Beatification
Padre Diego Luís de San Vitores was
beatified in 1985. It was his beatification that brought the memory of Pedro
Calungsod to our day. On 5 March 2000, Pope John Paul II beatified Pedro
Calungsod at Saint Peter's Square in Rome. Here’s an excerpt from the homily of
Blessed Pope John Paul II during the Beatification Rites of Blessed Pedro
Calungsod and 43 others:
"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).
The Canonization
In 2008, Most Rev.
Ricardo Cardinal Vidal expressed hope that Blessed Pedro Calungsod would soon
be canonized. A beatified person can be proclaimed a saint only after miracles
attributed to him (or her) are authenticated. Several people have sought
his intercession and attested to the miracles that he manifested: the cure of a
young man who was inflicted with bone cancer and the salvation of a kidnap
victim among others. All of these happened through Blessed Pedro Calungsod's
intercession.
On March 24, 2011, the Vatican
consultor physicians declared that a supernatural healing has occurred. On July
2, the Vatican consultor theologians authenticated that the supernatural
healing was due to the intercession of Calungsod. Then, on October 11, the Vatican
consultor cardinals, archbishops and bishops unanimously affirmed what the
physicians and theologians declared could point to an authentic major miracle
and that it is opportune to declare Calungsod a saint.
On Dec. 19, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI
received in audience Angelo Cardinal Amato, the Prefect of the Congregation for
the Causes of Saints, and authorized the promulgation of the Decree concerning
a miracle of Calungsod. The Pope has finally approved the canonization of
Blessed Pedro Calungsod and six others for sainthood. This act fulfills the
requirements for canonization.
On 18 February 2012, Pope Benedict
XVI declared that Calungsod will be canonized on 21 October 2012.
Prayer for the Canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod
O God, through the intercession of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, graciously grant the canonization of Blessed Pedro
Calungsod, if it be for the greater glory of your Name and for the good our
souls. AMEN.
Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory be.
o-o-O-o-o
O Dios, pinaagi sa pangama sa Mahal
nga Birhen Maria, mapuangurong itugot ang Kanonisasyon ni Beato Pedro
Calungsod, kung ugaling kini alang sa labaw'ng kahimayaan sa Imong Ngalan ug
alang sa kaayohan sa among mga kalag. AMEN.
Amahan Namo.... Maghimaya ka
Maria... Himaya sa Amahan....
Epilogue
Though
Pedro Calungsod has not been officially recognized yet as a saint, we know that
he is already enjoying the beatific vision in God's eternal kingdom. That
alone, is more than enough for us to make him a model. Like Blessed Pedro
Calungsod, may we remain steadfast in our faith, fervent in our hope and
selfless in love.
As Blessed Pedro Calungsod
approaches to sainthood, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma hopes this good news will
encourage the people to live a life of holiness: “May this make the people
aware of the call of the lay faithful to holiness… We are all called to a life
of union with God and a life of mission.”
Blessed Pedro will soon be canonized
and will henceforth be invoked as Saint Pedro Calungsod. This is our goal
because all of us are called to be saints.
San Pedro Calungsod, pray for us!
Sources:
PRIST’S
STUFF BLOG SITE - http://www.prieststuff.com/2012/02/biography-of-blessed-pedro-calungsod.html
http://pedrocalungsod.page.tl/Biography.htm
Augusto V. de Vian, “The Pampangos in the Mariana Mission
1668-1684” in Micronesian, Journal of the Humanities and Social Science,
dry season issue, June 2005, vol. 4, no.1.
Emy Loriega, “Blessed Pedro Calungsod”,
in The Pacific Voice
Homily of Pope John Paul II, Beatification
of 44 Servants of God, Sunday, 5 March 2000
Jessica Ann R. Pareja, The Freeman, December 21, 2011
Louie Jon A. Sanchez, The Varsitarian, October 20,
1999, Vol. LXXI No. 6
The Archdiocese of Manila , Pedro Calungsod, Young
Visayan Proto-Martyr, Manila, 2000.
The Hagiography Circle: 1672, no. 2:
"Pedro Calungsod". Cite: born: ca. 1654 in Ginatilan, Cebu,
Philippines.
