Pedro Calungsod was born in the year 1654. Four Visayan villages claim to be his hometown: Ginatilan and Tuburan in Cebu; Loboc in Bohol; and Leon in Iloilo.
He was known as a "Filipino lay catechist and martyr". He was a 17-year old Roman Catholic Filipino migrant, sacristan and missionary catechist from Cebu, who along with Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores, suffered religious persecution and martyrdom on Guam for their missionary works in 1672. He was killed at the age of 18 while doing his missionary work in Guam on April 2, 1672, a day before Palm Sunday that year. Through Calungsod and San Vitores' missionary efforts, many native Chamorros converted to Roman Catholicism.
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Beatification
Pedro Calungsod got beatified on March 5, 2000 at Saint Peter's Square in Rome by Blessed Pope John Paul II.
Regarding Calungsod's charitable works and virtuous deeds, Pope John Paul II declared:
"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."
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Canonization
Pedro Calungsod, is set to be canonized as second Filipino saint by Pope Benedict XVI on October 21, 2012. He is one of the seven blessed persons to be canonized as a saint on that day in Vatican City.
The Vatican officially set April 2 as Calungsod's feast day.
After his canonization, Pedro Calungsod will become the second Filipino saint 24 years after the beatification of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, a missionary martyred in Japan in 1637.
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List of blessed or beatified persons to be canonized on October 21, 2012:
1. Pedro Calungsod
2. Jacques Berthieu
3. Giovanni Battista Piamarta
4. Maria del Carmen
5. Maria Anna Cope
6. Kateri Tekakwitha
7. Anna Schaffer
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photos/source/reference: en.wikipedia.org, pinoypower.net and www.cebuarchdiocese.org
