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Pedro in bakya, white shirt is ‘model image’, says Vidal

Ador Vincent S. Mayol, Reporter
July 28, 2012

A wooden sculpture of a brown-skinned youth with wooden
bakya  on his feet was chosen as the “model image” of Visayan martyr Pedro Calungsod to  be brought to Rome.
 
And the nose was made to conform to  a Philippine profile – no sharp, high bridge but a softer, kinder shape.

The carving by an artisan in Paete,  Laguna province was chosen by Archbishop Emeritus of Cebu Ricardo Cardinal Vidal  who viewed a sample brought yesterday by Jesuit priest Fr. Jose Quilongquilong  to the prelate's residence in Banilad, Cebu City.
Picture
Archbishop Emeritus of Cebu Ricardo Cardinal Vidal shows the ‘model image’ of Pedro Calungsod (right).
Four other models by carvers in Cebu  and Manila were earlier viewed.

“This will be the official one,” said Vidal to serve as the pattern for other Calungsod images.

A two-foot version will be brought  to Rome for the Oct. 21 canonization rites.

“Mahirap ang malaki. (It's hard to  bring along a larger image). It will occupy place,” said Vidal who viewed an almost-four-foot statue yesterday.

A significant feature of the image  shows Calungsod stepping with his right foot forward, which symbolizes his  mission of moving from one place to another to spread the word of God.

Pedro holds a green palm and a catechism book the “Doctrina Cristiana” in his arms. He is dressed in black pants and a white long sleeved shirt like a camiso de chino.

The donor of the statues wants to remain unnamed, said Vidal.

Vidal said the archdiocese would order from Paete two more replicas to measure three feet and two feet.

Since no record exists of how Pedro  Calungsod, who died in 1672, looked like, the features were based on the artist's imagination, said Vidal.

He said the carver did not use any  real life model for the image but followed “the features that I asked
for.”

“First the face must be a Filipino  face, especially the nose. The color. Then, the Doctrina Cristiana, the palm  which is the symbol of matyrdom, and then the feet are on the move because he  was a missionary,” said Vidal.

“Those are the features of the image  that I have communicated with the sculpture in Paete.”

Vidal said he wanted an image that  depicts Calungsod's work as a lay catechist in a foreign land.

“A few statues have the movement of  the feet like this. I wanted him to be barefoot. (But I was told) that sandals  were already used during that time because the terrain in Guam was rugged and  stony,” he said.

With preparations gearing up for the  Oct. 21 canonization, Vidal said people should be reminded of the message
behind  the event.

“A lay person can be a saint also if  you will be faithful and true to what you are doing now. He (Calungsod) is a layman like you. A sacristan. He was faithful to his assignment. Holiness is still possible even among the young; holiness especially for the laity because the lay people composed majority of the church,” Vidal said.

The teenage mission helper came from  somewhere in the Visayas and was among the first to serve on a mission
organized  by Jesuit priest Fr. Diego de San Vitores to the Ladrones Islands in the Western  Pacific, Marianas in 1668.

On April 2, 1672, Pedro and Fr. Diego were speared to death by angry villagers in Tumhon, Guam, for catechizing and baptizing natives.

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