St. Pedro Calungsod: The Heroic Young Filipino Martyr
St. Pedro Calungsod is one of only two Filipino canonized saints. Like the other Filipino holy man, St. Lorenzo Ruiz, Pedro Calungsod was a catechist. As a year-old volunteer from the Visayan region of the Philippines, young Pedro went with fellow martyr, Fr. Diego Luis de San Vitores, on a Jesuit missionary journey to the Marianas Islands in the 17th century and suffered a fate worse than death. However, he embraced it with his whole heart, mind and soul, in defense of the Catholic faith, giving the heavens a reason for glorious rejoicing.
Untold suffering
In his book Pedro Calungsod: Young Visayan Protomartyr, Fr. Catalino G. Arevalo, S.J., wrote a fascinating account of Pedro Calungsod’s martyrdom at the hands of two enraged pagan natives named Matapang and Hurao on April 2,
The two would-be killers come to him first, so he cannot protect the priest, and throw spears and darts in his direction. Pedro dodges them, running from the attackers, but not so as to abandon the priest…A spear finally pierces his chest. He falls mortally wounded. One of the killers runs to him, and splits his skill with a machete. San Vito
Calungsod, Pedro, Bl.
Also known as "El Visayo," lay catechist and martyr; b. Visayas region of the Philippines c. &#x;58; d. Tomhon on San Juan, Ladrones Islands (now Guam, Marianas Islands) April 2, The only documentation concerning Calungsod's life is found in the materials about his companion in martyrdom, Blessed Fr. Diego Luis de san vitores. Calungsod received his education in minor seminary of Loboc, Bohol, where he learned doctrine, Spanish, and Latin.
Arriving on Guam with the first Jesuit missionaries (June 16, ), fourteen-year-old Pedro assisted San Vitores in the evangelization the Marianas Islands, then under the Filipino Diocese of Cebu. During the first six months, the missionaries counted 13, baptisms; another 20, natives were under instruction. For four years Pedro assisted by teaching Christian hymns and the catechism and serving at Mass until the day the priest and catechist encountered the local chieftain, Matapang and his friend Hirao. Matapang was enraged that San Vitores, at the request of the chief's wife, had baptized his daughter against his will. Pedro had an opportunity to escape, but threw himself in the path of Hirao's spear, offering himself
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 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
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 ide
Pedro Calungsod was a young man from the Visayas region in the Philippines: born in in the territory of Cebu, he attended the Jesuit missions as a boy until he became a catechist. Young, local natives like Pedro who were trained from a cultural and spiritual point of view could be a valuable help to preach and be an instrument of conversion. Therefore, at the end of a two-year journey Pedro became one of the catechists who, together with the Spanish Jesuit missionaries, went as far as the Mariana Islands to evangelize the Chamorros, obtaining many conversions. However, a Chinese healer, called Choco, who was envious of missionaries, began to spread the rumor that baptismal water was poisonous. Since some children had died after being baptized when they were already sick, many believed in the slanderer. Choco's evil campaign was also quickly supported by some superstitious indigenous people and immoral customs who began to persecute the missionaries. On April 2, , Pedro - who must have been about seventeen at the time - and the superior of the mission, Father Diego Luis de San Vitores, arrived in the village of Tomhom on the island of Guam to baptize a child. But the child's fat
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