Saint Pedro Calungsod - Catechist, Filipino, Martyr

Saint Pedro Calungsod 

Martyrs are those who stand witness for their beliefs and who give testimony to their faith.  Since the early years of the Church, there have been thousands of martyrs; people who never feared, or even if they did, stood their ground for the sake of the principles they espoused and the faith that they lived by and lived for.

Martyrs therefore are the models of the faith, especially those who believed and followed Jesus, the Christ and in effect, were persecuted, imprisoned, tortured and killed.  Martyrs did not renounce their faith and remained true to their beliefs even if the consequence meant death. This is what St. Pedro Calungsod demonstrated in his short yet valiant life.  Saint Pedro Calungsod is a migrant, sacristan and missionary catechist who, along with the Spanish Jesuit missionary Diego Luis de San Vitores, suffered religious persecution and martyrdom in Guam for their missionary work in 1672.

Disputed origin

Few details of the early life of Calungsod (spelled Calonsor in Spanish records) are known. Historical records do not mention his exact birthplace or birth date and merely identified him as "Pedro Calonsor, el Visayo". Historical research identifies Ginatilan in Cebu, Hinunangan and Hinundayan in Southern Leyte, and the Molo district of Iloilo City as possible places of origin; Loboc, Bohol also makes a claim. Of these claims, the ones from Molo, Iloilo and Ginatilan, Cebu are considered the strongest.

As a result, Cardinal Vidal, the main postulator of the Beatification and Canonization of St. Pedro Calungsod, he ruled that he will not establish a definitive judgment on his birthplace, since Spanish records only indicate the words "Pedro Calonsor, El Visayo" as his native description. Furthermore, he stated that all Visayan provinces were under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Cebu during the Filipino-Spanish era.

Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores

Training and arrival on Guam

It is probable that he received basic education at a Jesuit boarding school, mastering the Catechism and learning to communicate in Spanish. He also likely honed his skills in drawing, painting, singing, acting, and carpentry, as these were necessary in missionary work.

In 1668, Calungsod, then around 14, was amongst the exemplary young catechists chosen to accompany Spanish Jesuit missionaries to the Islas de los Ladrones ("Isles of Thieves"), which have since been renamed the Mariana Islands the year before to honor both the Virgin Mary and the mission's benefactress, María Ana of Austria, Queen Regent of Spain. Calungsod accompanied the priest Diego San Vitores to Guam to catechize the native Chamorros.  It is said that during their voyage, the venerable image of Nuestra Senora de la Paz y Buen Viaje accompanied the missionary group on their way to Mexico and Guam and it is also said that rosaries and devotions are done in front of the miraculous image. Missionary life on the island was difficult as provisions did not arrive regularly, the jungles and terrain were difficult to traverse, and the Marianas were frequently devastated by typhoons. The mission nevertheless persevered, and a significant number of locals were baptized into the faith.

An Evil plot against the Missionaries

A Chinese man named Choco, a criminal from Manila who was exiled in Guam began spreading rumors that the baptismal water used by missionaries was poisonous. As some sickly Chamorro infants who were baptized eventually died, many believed the story and held the missionaries responsible. Choco was readily supported by the macanjas (medicine men) and the urritaos (young males) who despised the missionaries.

In their search for a runaway companion named Esteban, Calungsod and San Vitores came to the village of Tumhon, Guam on April 2, 1672. There they learnt that the wife of the village's chief Mata'pang had given birth to a daughter, and they immediately went to baptize the child. Influenced by the calumnies of Choco, Chief Mata'pang strongly opposed; to give him some time to calm down, the missionaries gathered the children and some adults of the village at the nearby shore and started chanting with them the tenets of the Catholic faith. They invited Mata'pang to join them, but he shouted back that he was angry with God and was fed up with Christian teachings.

Determined to kill the missionaries, Mata'pang went away and tried to enlist another villager, a pagan named Hirao. The latter initially refused, mindful of the missionaries' kindness towards the natives, but became piqued and eventually capitulated when Mata'pang branded him a coward. While Mata'pang was away from his house, San Vitores and Calungsod baptized the baby girl, with the consent of her Christian mother.

The Martyrdom of Pedro and Padre Diego

Martyrdom of St. Pedro Calungsod and F

When Mata'pang learnt of his daughter's baptism, he became even more furious. He violently hurled spears first at Calungsod, who was able to dodge them. Witnesses claim that Calungsod could have escaped the attack, but did not desert San Vitores. Those who knew personally Calungsod considered his martial abilities and that he could have defeated the aggressors with weapons; San Vitores had however banned his companions to bear arms. Calungsod was struck in the chest by a spear and he fell to the ground, then Hirao immediately charged towards him and finished him off with machete blow to the head. San Vitores quickly absolved Calungsod before he too was killed.

Mata'pang took San Vitores' crucifix and pounded it with a stone whilst blaspheming God. Both assassins then undressed the corpses of Calungsod and San Vitores, tied large stones to the feet, and brought these on their proas out to Tumon Bay, dumping the bodies in the water.

The Church considers Calungsod's martyrdom as committed In Odium Fidei ('In Hatred of the Faith'), referring to the religious persecution endured by the person in Evangelization.

Beatification Process

A month after the martyrdom of San Vitores and Calungsod, a process for beatification was initiated but only for San Vitores. Political and religious turmoil, however, delayed and halted the process. When Hagåtña was preparing for its 20th anniversary as a diocese in 1981, the 1673 beatification cause of Padre Diego Luís de San Vitores was rediscovered in old manuscripts and revived until San Vitores was finally beatified on October 6, 1985. This gave recognition to Calungsod, paving the way for his own beatification.

In 1980, then-Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal asked permission from the Vatican to initiate the beatification and canonization cause of Pedro Calungsod. In March 1997, the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints approved the acta of the diocesan beatification process. That same year, Cardinal Vidal appointed Fr Ildebrando Leyson as vice-postulator for the cause, tasked with compiling a Positio Super Martyrio (position regarding the martyrdom) to be scrutinized by the Congregation. The positio, which relied heavily on the documentation of San Vitores' beatification, was completed in 1999.

Wanting to include young Asian laypersons in his first beatification for the Jubilee Year 2000, John Paul II paid particular attention to the cause of Calungsod. In January 2000, he approved the decree super martyrio (concerning the martyrdom) of Calungsod, setting his beatification for March 5, 2000 at Saint Peter's Square in Rome.

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."

The Canonization 

On December 19, 2011, the Holy See officially approved the miracle qualifying Calungsod for sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church.The recognized miracle dates from March 26, 2003, when a woman from Leyte who was pronounced clinically dead by accredited physicians two hours after a heart attack was revived when an attending physician invoked Calungsod's intercession.

Cardinal Angelo Amato presided over the declaration ceremony on behalf of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. He later revealed that Pope Benedict XVI approved and signed the official promulgation decrees recognizing the miracles as authentic and worthy of belief. The Pope set the date for the canonization ceremony to October 21, 2012 on World Mission Sunday, 340 years after Calungsod's death.

On October 21, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Calungsod in Saint Peter's Square.along with seven new saints, Calungsod was the only one without first class relic exposed for veneration since his body was thrown into the sea. The cutlass knife used to hack Calungsod's head and neck was retrieved by Cardinal Vidal from Guam, and is currently venerated as a second-class relic. During the homily, Benedict XVI maintained that Calungsod received the Sacrament of Absolution from Diego Luis de San Vitores before his martyrdom and death.

Feast Day

After Saint Lorenzo Ruíz of Manila, Calungsod is the second Filipino to be declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Martyrology celebrates Calungsod's feast along with Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores every April 2. However, whenever April 2 falls within Holy Week or within the Octave of Easter, his feast is celebrated on the Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent, that is, the Saturday before Palm Sunday.

Iconography

Calungsod is often portrayed clutching a Catechism book, notably the "Doctrina Christiana". It is not known exactly what Calungsod looked like, as no contemporary depictions survive. The writer Alcina, who was a contemporary of Pedro Calungsod, described the male Visayan indios of his time as usually more corpulent, better built and somewhat taller than the Tagalogs in Luzon; that their skin was light brown in color; that their faces were usually round and of fine proportions; that their noses were flat; that their eyes and hair were black; that they— especially the youth—wore their hair a little bit long; and that they already started to wear camisas (shirts) and calzones (knee-breeches). Pedro Chirino, S.J., who also worked in the Visayas in the 1590s, similarly described the Visayans as well-built, of pleasing countenance and light-skinned.

Calungsod is often depicted as a teenaged young man wearing a camisa de chino that is sometimes bloodied, and usually dark loose trousers. His most popular attributes are the martyr's palm pressed to his chest and the Doctrina Christiana. To indicate his missionary status, he is depicted in mid-stride, occasionally also bearing a rosary or crucifix. In some early statues, Calungsod is sometimes shown with a spear and catana (cutlass), the instruments of his death.

The image

When the Archdiocese of Manila in 1998 published the pamphlet Pedro Calungsod: Young Visayan "Proto-Martyr" by Jesuit theologian Catalino Arevalo, the 17-year-old Ronald Tubid of Oton, Iloilo, then a student-athlete at the University of the East, was chosen to model for a portrait of Calungsod. This then became the basis for Rafael del Casal's painting in 1999, which was chosen as the official portrait for Calungsod. The Del Casal portrait is the first to feature a Christogram, the seal of the Society of Jesus with which he was affiliated. The original painting is now enshrined at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Saint Pedro Calungsod in Cebu City.

Several statues of Calungsod were also commissioned for the beatification, with one brought to Rome and blessed by John Paul II. This became the "Pilgrim Image", now enshrined at the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Black Nazarene of the Society of the Angel of Peace in Cansojong, Talisay City, Cebu. Another image was enshrined at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Saint Pedro Calungsod in Cebu City. Both images also depict Calungsod wearing a white camisa (shirt) and trousers, with his characteristic palm, a rosary, and a crucifix pressed to his breast. During the novena before his feast day, a replica of the catana used to kill him is set into the arm of the statue.

For the Canonization celebrations, the sculpture by Justino Cagayat Jr. depicting Calungsod in midstride and carrying the Doctrina Christian and the martyr's palm pressed to his chest was chosen. This image was brought to Rome for the Canonization festivities. Upon its return to the Philippines, the image toured the country. These visits are currently ongoing to promote devotion to Calungsod. When not on a pilgrimage tour, the image is enshrined at the Cebu Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Pedro Calungsod inside the Archbishop's Residence Compound, D. Jakosalem Street, Cebu City.

His dedication as a Catechist is something worth retelling and worth imitating. He is willing to give up his life for the sake of the faith that led to his exaltation to the altars of the Universal Church and as well as the renewed admiration of his countrymen. May Saint Pedro Calungsod be our model of faith, of witness, of service.  He is not only a model for the young people but for all of us who want to share God’s good news to everyone.  May we also follow Jesus and be His witness, like the young martyr named Pedro Calungsod, for at 17 he made a difference in his life and faith.