A Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) official made a good point about parents no longer naming their babies after saints.
There was a time when babies were named Lourdes or Maria Lourdes if born in February, the month marking the feast of the Our Lady of Lourdes, or Niño in December or January to mark the birth of the baby Jesus and the celebration of the child Jesus. Read the rest of this entry
WE stood next to John Paul II when we sang at Lorenzo Ruiz’s beatification,” our maid from Cebu wrote. Tering remained in Rome when United Nations reassigned us to Bangkok.
Will the wife and I glimpse Tering from cameras that pan crowds when Benedict XVI canonizes Pedro Calungsod of the Visayas October 21? Read the rest of this entry
Pedro rested for a moment as he guided the nearsighted Fr. Diego up the footpath that would lead them to faraway Agana, the headquarters of the mission that arrived in the Ladrones islands in 1668. It was already 1672 and Fr. Diego had remained tireless in preaching the gospel to the native Chamorros. Pedro looked back at the remote place they were to leave behind and at the church that they just constructed.
He led Fr. Diego along with a rope tied to the priest’s waist so he wouldn’t bump into trees and rocks along the way. Despite his physical limitations, Fr. Diego plodded on, large rosary beads dangling around his neck and in his hand a long wooden pole with a crucifix attached to the top. He brought with him a satchel with his breviary, bible and holy oil. Read the rest of this entry
Isang tulog na lang. The much-awaited canonization of the first Visayan saint, Pedro Calungsod, will take place in the Vatican tomorrow at four in the afternoon, Philippine time. Calungsod will be canonized by Pope Benedict XVI together with six other candidates for sainthood from other nations.
While the main action is in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, the Cebu archdiocese and other church-affiliated organizations here are also organizing religious events. Masses will be held simultaneously in various parishes. There will be live coverage of the event through satellite offered by some international and local television channels. Read the rest of this entry
The sainthood process involving the Visayan Pedro Calungsod (Calungsor in old Catholic Church chronicles), together with six other Catholics from other areas of the globe, will end tomorrow with his canonization by Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
In Cebu, canonization-related activities will extend for a few more days, capped by a national thanksgiving mass at the South Road Properties (SRP) on Nov. 30. Tomorrow has also been declared by President Noynoy Aquino as National Thanksgiving Day. The President said Calungsod’s life and martyrdom should serve as an inspiration to the Filipinos. Read the rest of this entry
IN THE euphoria sparked by the scheduled canonization of Visayan catechist and martyr Pedro Calungsod, issuing the reminder “hinay-hinay lang” might be necessary. This as some sectors have started pointing to honest celebratory acts that nevertheless could end up being overdone.
Calungsod, together with six other exemplars of Catholic worship, will be canonized in Rome on Sunday by Pope Benedict XVI. Read the rest of this entry
MSGR. Ildebrando Leyson is right. Nobody knows how Blessed Pedro Calungsod looked like. All we know, based on historical records, is that Blessed Pedro was a young indio who hailed from the Visayas.
The 17th century Spanish chronicler Franciscan friar Francisco Ignacio Alcina described young Visayan natives as usually light brown, better built than Tagalogs, with flat noses, and sporting long hair. I could imagine that Blessed Pedro possessing these physical attributes except perhaps for the long hair.
Having spent some time as a catechist in the Marianas Islands with Fr. Diego de San Vitores, he must have adopted by then the hairstyle accepted by the Spaniards. Read the rest of this entry
I RECEIVED varied reactions on my column last Saturday entitled “Pedro Calungsod was an Ilonggo.” Some accused me of being anti-Catholic and should be condemned and ostracized by the church. Others urged me to apologize to the church for spreading misinformation about Calungsod.
They also questioned my credibility as a journalist for using Google and Wikipedia as my sources of information, which are not very reliable.
However, there were others who supported my position. But before some devout Catholics condemn and “hang me,” let me explain my side. Read the rest of this entry