Thursday, August 30, 2012

Pope to canonize Pedro Calungsod as second Filipino saint

The 17th-century martyr Pedro Calungsod has been scheduled for canonization by Pope Benedict XVI after the Vatican acknowledged the "miraculous" healing of a woman in 2003.

According to Monsignor Ildebrando Leyson, a lead advocate for Calungsod’s elevation into sainthood, the woman had been in a coma caused by hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a potentially deadly condition in which the brain does not receive enough oxygen.

In an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines' (CBCP) website, Leyson said that the patient's doctor himself prayed to Calungsod to save her life.

Four hours later, said Leyson, the woman regained consciousness and recovered quickly with “no sensory and motor deficit.”

The woman, who has not been identified, is from the Visayas region and, said Leyson, is now a devotee of Calungsod.

In December 2011, the Pope acknowledged the woman’s healing as a miracle obtained through Calungsod's intercession.

The martyr will become only the second Filipino saint when he is canonized in Rome on October 21, along with six others.

The 17-year-old Calungsod was doing missionary work in Guam when he was killed in 1672. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on March 5, 2000.