Pedro’s icon makes last Cebu tour as ‘blessed’
by Ador Vincent Mayol
Reporter
Before his martyrdom in Guam in 1672, the young Pedro Calungsod travelled from one place to the other to propagate God's message. On Tuesday, Calungsod's image is heading to Rome in Italy for the Oct. 21 canonization ceremony at St. Peter's Square on a jet plane.
Cathay Pacific, a Hong Kong airline company has offered to fly Calungsod’s image to and from Rome as a passenger, not cargo. On Oct. 16, Calungsod’s image will be brought from the Calungsod Shrine in D. Jakosalem to the Metropolitan Cathedral for a Mass at dawn At 8 a.m. a motorcade will bring Calungsod’s image to the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
“This will be the last time Calungsod will be paraded in Cebu as a beato,” said Msgr. Marnell Mejia of the Special Commission for the Devotion of Blessed Pedro. “It's our honor to participate in this significant event. We look forward to welcoming the image,” said Grace Ho, the manager of Cathay Pacific in Cebu. The wooden sculpture of the soon-to-be saint will be used for the procession around the vicinity of the Chiesa di Santa Pudenziana after the solemn vespers on the night of his canonization.
After the canonization the image of the young Visayan martyr and second Filipino saint will embark on another journey back home.
A Duaw Nasud will bring the image to 36 areas across the Philippines starting on Oct. 25. The destinations represent the country's four ecclesiastical provinces existing in 1772 – Nueva Segovia , Vigan, Manila, Nueva Caceres (Naga), and Cebu, said Mejia.
On Nov. 27, the image will be brought back to Cebu City from Getafe, Bohol, the last stop of the Duaw Nasud, by sea.
“The Calungsod saga is marked by journeys and voyages,” said Mejia. Fr. Charles Jayme, the official custodian of Calungsod's image, said the image will proceed to the Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome after its arrival.
Triduum Masses will be held in Rome before the canonization rites on Oct. 21 to be presided by Pope Benedict XVI. Around 3,000 pilgrims from Cebu are going to the Holy See for Calungsod’s canonization. A thanksgiving Mass will be held inside the St. Peter's Basilica a day after the canonization.
Upon its return to Cebu City, another round of Triduum or three-day Masses for the national thanksgiving celebration will begin at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The second day of the triduum will be held at the Metropolitan Cathedral. On the third day of the triduum, Calungsod will be brought to the SRP for the blessing of the new Church inside the property owned by SM. Calungsod 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./with Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan
Reporter
Before his martyrdom in Guam in 1672, the young Pedro Calungsod travelled from one place to the other to propagate God's message. On Tuesday, Calungsod's image is heading to Rome in Italy for the Oct. 21 canonization ceremony at St. Peter's Square on a jet plane.
Cathay Pacific, a Hong Kong airline company has offered to fly Calungsod’s image to and from Rome as a passenger, not cargo. On Oct. 16, Calungsod’s image will be brought from the Calungsod Shrine in D. Jakosalem to the Metropolitan Cathedral for a Mass at dawn At 8 a.m. a motorcade will bring Calungsod’s image to the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
“This will be the last time Calungsod will be paraded in Cebu as a beato,” said Msgr. Marnell Mejia of the Special Commission for the Devotion of Blessed Pedro. “It's our honor to participate in this significant event. We look forward to welcoming the image,” said Grace Ho, the manager of Cathay Pacific in Cebu. The wooden sculpture of the soon-to-be saint will be used for the procession around the vicinity of the Chiesa di Santa Pudenziana after the solemn vespers on the night of his canonization.
After the canonization the image of the young Visayan martyr and second Filipino saint will embark on another journey back home.
A Duaw Nasud will bring the image to 36 areas across the Philippines starting on Oct. 25. The destinations represent the country's four ecclesiastical provinces existing in 1772 – Nueva Segovia , Vigan, Manila, Nueva Caceres (Naga), and Cebu, said Mejia.
On Nov. 27, the image will be brought back to Cebu City from Getafe, Bohol, the last stop of the Duaw Nasud, by sea.
“The Calungsod saga is marked by journeys and voyages,” said Mejia. Fr. Charles Jayme, the official custodian of Calungsod's image, said the image will proceed to the Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome after its arrival.
Triduum Masses will be held in Rome before the canonization rites on Oct. 21 to be presided by Pope Benedict XVI. Around 3,000 pilgrims from Cebu are going to the Holy See for Calungsod’s canonization. A thanksgiving Mass will be held inside the St. Peter's Basilica a day after the canonization.
Upon its return to Cebu City, another round of Triduum or three-day Masses for the national thanksgiving celebration will begin at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The second day of the triduum will be held at the Metropolitan Cathedral. On the third day of the triduum, Calungsod will be brought to the SRP for the blessing of the new Church inside the property owned by SM. Calungsod 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./with Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan
