A second Filipino saint

Filipinos bounded in glee at the canonization of our second saint – St. Pedro Calungsod.

Thousands of Pinoy devotees went to Rome to attend the official proclamation by Pope Benedict XVI of Calungsod as the second Filipino saint.

But what was significant was that most of those who attended the canonization came from various parts of Europe, the United States, and Canada.

In short, Pinoys consider St. Pedro not only as their Filipino saint but could relate with him wherever they may come from.

Even his true name had not fully been documented, nor his origin. Some place it in Cebu, Bohol, and Iloilo, and people from yet other parts of the country claim him to be their son. But nothing definite has come out of it.

In short, he truly represents the Filipino. That’s why the effort by some to present him as the saint for the youth may be constricting. True, that St. Pedro died a young man. In the prime of his youth when he tried to shield a Jesuit missionary from the spears of attackers. But he can be the icon for any other Pinoy, whether adult or young.

Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, former Cebu Archbishop, and one of the Philippines’ two cardinals, led the big entourage from Cebu which had gone to Rome to attend the canonization. But as earlier stated, there were other pilgrims from different parts of the globe.

What makes it doubly significant was that the canonization took place on Mission Sunday when we pay tribute to the missionaries of the Church.

And that’s what makes it doubly significant. We are, as Christians, considered to be missionaries. Not just praying Christians but people of faith. All of us are supposed to be witnesses to Christ and the Gospel of love.

And, the young, especially are called upon to help evangelize the world, not just our corner of the earth. And that seems to be among the overlooked ideals of the modern world. Millions of Pinoys are spread all over the world, each supposedly bringer of the gospel of Christ. Espousing the fact that Christ came to earth to save people and not condemn them.

The triumphal joy that greeted St. Pedro’s canonization is supposed to instill among us a sense of awareness of our evangelizing task as Christians. Especially the young. Many of them are not trapped in secularism, materialism, and hedonism. But despite many who have fallen victims to evil, the vast majority of Filipino youngsters remain in the embrace of the faith and are expected to be themselves apostles of Christ.

This is something which I had discovered with my wife and two other Filipino physicians when we went on a pilgrimage to Europe several years back.

We noticed that in most parts of the continent, in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, among other places we visited, Filipinos represent a sizeable number of churchgoers. Whether in Lourdes, France or in Portugal, there were always groups of Pinoys who represented the bulk of those inside churches.

In Rome, we were surprised by the number of Pinoys there during the Sunday audience with the Pope.

The same was true in the United States. Everywhere we went, the bulk of parishioners were mostly Filipinos.

That was the scene in San Diego, California, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and in Florida as well as other states. Pinoys represented the bulk of churchgoers. In Milan, Italy, I was surprised to hear that many Filipinos were among those in churches while mostly European and Westerners spend time openly gaping at the architecture and the beauty of the churches and cathedrals of Europe.

The canonization of St. Pedro is expected to stimulate a stampede among young Pinoys to join the evangelization call of Christ to preaching the Gospel among the people of the world wherever they are.

***

If there was a reason for my failure to write Saturday’s column, it was because I spend time with guests, mostly relatives from Palawan, Cagayan de Oro, and the US.

The thing that struck me was their talk about Bacolod as a livable city. Something that sort of elated me.

Among our guests that Saturday night were Melanie Alvarez, wife of 2nd District Representative Antonio Alvarez of Palawan, a niece. There were also Harry Over, husband of another niece, Dotti Espina, and yes, there was George Yared, a nephew from CDO, now stating in the US, and is here for the MassKara and spending time in Manila.

There were a lot more we were with. But one thing all said was that Bacolod is truly a livable city.

Of course, they all paid tribute to the MassKara Festival, especially to the electric MassKara and the one important thing is that all of them paid tribute to the food of Bacolod and what they have seen and enjoyed.

Quite a departure from that they had seen years back.

Kudos to Mayor Evelio Leonardia and MassKara Foundation director Eli Tajanlangit for having transformed the festival into a celebration worth a second trip by those currently in the city.*

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