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St. Pedro Calungsod
St. Pedro Calungsod
Martyrdom
A Chinese merchant named Choco began spreading rumours that the baptismal water used by missionaries was
poisonous. As some sickly Chamorro infants who were baptised 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 Tumon, Guam on 2 April 1672. There they learnt that the wife of the village chief Matapang gave birth to
a daughter, and they immediately went to baptise the child. Influenced by the calumnies of Choco, the chief strongly
opposed; to give Matapang 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 religion. They invited Matapang
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, Matapang went away and tried to enlist another villager, named Hirao, who was
not a Christian. Hirao initially refused, mindful of the missionaries kindness towards the natives, but when Matapang
branded him a coward, he became piqued and capitulated. Meanwhile, during that brief absence of Matapang from
his hut, San Vitores and Calungsod baptised the baby girl, with the consent of her Christian mother.
When Matapang learnt of his daughters baptism, he became even more furious. He violently hurled spears first at
Pedro, who was able to dodge the spears. Witnesses claim that Calungsod could have escaped the attack, but did
not want to leave San Vitores alone. Those who knew Calungsod personally meanwhile believed that he could have
defeated the aggressors with weapons; San Vitores however banned his companions to carry arms. Calungsod was
hit 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 absolved Calungsod before he too was killed..
Matapang took San Vitores crucifix and pounded it with a stone whilst blaspheming God. Both assassins then
denuded the corpses of Calungsod and San Vitroes, tied large stones to their feet, brought them out to sea on
their proas and threw them into the water.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Calungsods martyrdom is called In Odium Fidei or In Hatred of the Faith, referring to
the religious persecution endured by the person in evangelisation.
Beatification
Sainthood
On 19 December 2011, the Holy See officially approved the miracle qualifying Calungsod for sainthood by the Roman
Catholic Church. The recognised miracle dates from 2002, when a Leyte woman who was pronounced clinically
dead by accredited physicians two hours after a heart attack was revived when a doctor prayed for Calungsods
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 recognising
the miracles as authentic and worthy of belief. The College of Cardinals were then sent a dossier on the new saints,
and they were asked to indicate their approval. On 18 February 2012, after the Consistory for the Creation of
Cardinals, Cardinal Amato formally petitioned Pope Benedict XVI to announce the canonization of the new
saints. The Pope set the date for 21 October 2012 (World Mission Sunday).
After Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, Calungsod will be the second Filipino declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.
The Roman Martyrology celebrates Calungsods feast along with Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores every 2 April.
Source: http://sanpedrocalungsod.com/