What is the story of Pedro Calungsod?
What is the story of Pedro Calungsod?
Pedro Calungsod, a young Filipino man, leaves his Visayan native roots to join the Spanish Jesuit priest Fr. Diego de San Vitores in his mission to the Marianas Islands (Guam) in 1668. They roamed the dangerous islands and baptized many more natives and continued to enlighten them about Christianity.
When was Pedro Calungsod beatified as a saint?
Saint Pedro Calungsod (c. 1654 – April 2, 1672) is a Filipino Roman Catholic martyr who was killed while doing missionary work in Guam in 1672. He was beatified on March 5, 2000, by Pope John Paul II. As a skilled sacristan and teacher of cathecism, he was a companion of Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores to the Marianas Islands.
Why did Blessed Pedro Calungsod want to leave Padre Diego?
Calungsod’s website said spears were violently hurled at the young Filipino catechist. “The lad skirted the darting spears with remarkable dexterity. Witnesses said that Pedro had all the chances to escape because he was very agile, but he did not want to leave Padre Diego alone,” the site said.
What did Pedro Calungsod do for the Chamorros?
While in Guam, Calungsod preached Christianity to the Chamorro people through catechesis, while baptizing infants, children, and adults at the risk and expense of being persecuted and eventually murdered. Through Calungsod and San Vitores’s missionary efforts, many native Chamorros converted to Roman Catholicism .
Why was Pedro Calungsod considered a martyr by the Catholic Church?
The Catholic Church considers Calungsod’s martyrdom to have been committed In Odium Fidei (‘In Hatred of the Faith’). 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 for centuries.