CBCP exec: Blessed Pedro Calungsod may be declared patron saint of OFWs

Once he is canonized in October, the soon-to-be Filipino saint Pedro Calungsod may be declared a patron saint of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), a Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) official said.   However, CBCP assistant secretary general Fr. Marvin Mejia said Calungsod may also be declared a patron of youths because of his age when he was martyred.   “He could be patron saint of the Filipino youth because he was a lad when he died or could be the patron saint of OFW, he worked under the Jesuit missionaries in Guam or of lay missionaries," Mejia said in an article posted on the CBCP news site on Wednesday.  "But I am sure that he could be a model to every Filipino of more important things in life, like Pedro Calungsod who had offered his life for us and for the faith,” Mejia added.   Mejia also said a nationwide celebration will take place after Calungsod formally becomes the Philippines' second saint.   Calungsod was martyred in Guam on April 2, 1672.   He was one of the boy catechists who went with some Spanish Jesuit missionaries from the Philippines to the Ladrones Islands in the western North Pacific Ocean in 1668 to evangelize the Chamorros.   On April 2, 1672, Calungsod was martyred with Fr. Diego Luis de San Vitores when they were attacked after a baptism.   Two important dates   Meanwhile, Mejia said there are now two important dates Filipinos have to remember about Calungsod's canonization:    

• October 21: canonization in Rome, and
• November 20: Thanksgiving Mass

A delegation was organized for the canonization with a group from Manila, Cebu and Rome to be present during the canonization process. Those expected to be part of the delegation are CBCP president and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, retired Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle.    The CBCP said the delegation will be the biggest after St. Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila’s canonization in 1987. Meanwhile, Mejia said a national activity, the "Duaw Nasud" or the National Visit of the image of St. Pedro Calungsod will connect the two events.   Mejia said the image is set to visit the first four ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the Philippines at the time of Calungsod’s martyrdom in 1672:    

• Archdiocese of Manila,
• Diocese of Cebu,
• Diocese of Nueva Caceres, and
• Diocese of Nueva Segovia.

  The purpose of the nationwide visit is to introduce the saint to the Filipino people and to promote the devotion to him.   "Duaw Nasud" will start a month after the canonization of Pedro Calungsod, he said.   “We will be bringing the image from north to south of the country. But first, after the arrival of the image from Rome, which will be days after the canonization, there will be a grand reception here in Manila," Mejia said. "It will be flown to Vigan for a motorcade down South, crossing Matnog in Northern Samar and passing by Leyte going to Northern Mindanao. It will also pass by Negros, Capiz, Iloilo, Tagbilaran and Cebu,” he added. - VVP, GMA News