Calungsod's statue to be flown to Vatican as passenger — custodian

The official statue of Blessed Pedro Calungsod, the soon to be canonized Filipino martyr, will be flown to the Vatican from Cebu next week, not as cargo but as passenger.   “The image will be among the passengers and not as cargo,” said Fr. Charles Jayme, the designated custodian of the image. “We’ll be seated together.”   Calungsod’s statue will be flown to Vatican via Cathay Pacific on Oct. 16 for the Filipino martyr’s canonization in Rome on Oct. 21.   According to an article posted on the website of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Calungsod’s three-foot tall statue is scheduled to depart at 12:30 p.m.   “I really take it as a blessing and gift from God being chosen for this. This is a humbling experience for me,” Jayme said on being designated official custodian of the image.   The Archdiocese of Cebu has lined up several activities before the image leaves the country, among them a 6:30 p.m. Mass to be held at the nearby shrine named after Calungsod on Oct. 15.   Jayme said the following day, the image will be carried from the shrine to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral for another liturgical celebration at 4:30 a.m.   A motorcade is also scheduled at around 8 a.m. to send off the image from the cathedral to Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City.   After the canonization, the statue will be flown back to the Philippines in time for the “Duaw Nasud” to major cities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao from October 25 to November 27.   The image is expected to be back in Cebu City before the Nov. 30 thanksgiving Mass for Calungsod’s sainthood.   Calungsod will be the second saint of the Philippines after Saint Lorenzo Ruiz. — KBK, GMA News