Pedro Calungsod, a 17-year old Filipino catholic who served as a catechist and suffered persecution and martyrdom while doing missionary work in 1672 in Guam, will be proclaimed Saint this year.
On March 5, 2000, Calungsod was beatified by Pope John Paul II at Saint Peter’s Square in Rome.
In his homily during the beatification, the Pope said Calungsod “declared himself unwaveringly for Christ and responded generously to his call,” adding that he “undertook the demanding work asked of him and bravely faced the many obstacles and difficulties he met.”
Blessed Pedro Calungsod “intercedes for the young,” the Pope stated with a reminder for the youth of today to “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.”
On February 18, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially announced that the Blessed Calungsod will be canonised on October 21, 2012.
The good news came two months after the Holy See recognized and officially approved the miracle qualifying Calungsod for sainthood.
On December 19, 2011, Vatican officials verified a second miracle attributed to him — a miracle in 2002 when a Leyte woman who fell into coma hours after a heart attack was brought back to life after the doctor prayed for Calungsod’s intercession.
The feast of Blessed Pedro Calungsod is celebrated every 2nd day of April, the anniversary of his martyrdom. If the day falls within the Holy Week, the feast is observed on the Saturday before Passion Sunday.
