MANILA – People waved their hands and Philippine flaglets at the airport to greet the arrival of the image of Saint Pedro Calungsod from Rome.
Typhoon Ofel’s rain and wind did not dampen a warm welcome by hundreds of devotees and proud Filipino Catholics.
The Cathay Pacific flight which transported the image for free touched down at 5:45 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport where hundreds of people gathered.
Some carried portraits of the new teenage saint.
Airport employees applauded when they saw Cebuano priest Fr. Charles Jayme emerge from the plane with Calungsod’s statue.
Margie Matheu of the Archdiocese of Cebu’s secretariat recalled that when Calungsod’s image was brought around Cebu for a Duaw Lungsod after his his beatification in Rome in 2000, there was also a storm when devotees crossed to Dumaguete in Negros Oriental and in Camotes Island.
“Maybe he wants us to feel the big waves of the Pacific, his experience when he sailed to the Marianas Island in Guam for the mission,” she said.
Cheers of “Viva San Pedro Calungsod!” filled the airport lounge where a short prayer and a press conference was held.
A group of Cebuanos in red shirts welcomed Calungsod’s image at the airport along with priests and church offiicals from the Archdiocese of Manila.
A garland of sampaguita was placed around the shoulders of the image as it was placed on an altar with flowers and candles.
Calungsod’s image will be brought across the country for the Duaw Nasud or a pilgrimage of thanksgiving to 36 areas starting with Manila.
The image was brought in a motorcade under rainy skies to the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) for an overnight stay.
The wooden sculpture was placed in a glass case on a truck adorned with flowers.
Manila-based priest Antonio Navarette Jr. will supervise the Duaw Nasud in Manila. Fr. Jayme, custodian of the image, will take a short rest and rejoin the Duaw Nasud’s Visayas leg.
The image will be brought to Pasig City today.
“We’re very happy that St. Pedro Calungsod is home. We’re welcoming a prestigious passenger from Rome,” said former Philippine Ambassador to the Vatican Henrietta de Villa, in a press conference at the airport.
“This is a signal that the Lord loves the Philippines very much,” she said.
“Pedro is exemplary. He’s young yet he showed commitment. His faithfulness and commitment goes beyond age,” De Villa said.
She said she’s hoping that Calungsod will become the patron saint of Overseas Filipino Workers since the Visayan martyr also went overseas, in Guam to spread God’s word in 1668.
“Our celebration should not be confined to the festivities but in the way we live our lives,” she said.
De Villa invited Filipinos to join in the Duaw Nasud or the pilgrimage of thanksgiving across the country.
“I hope St. Pedro Calungsod will visit you with a special grace for the Lord,” she said.
De Villa said two other images of Calungsod were given to Pope Benedict XVI and the Pontifico Colleggio Filippino, the residence of Filipino secular priests studying in Rome.
She said replicas of the image will also be given to every destination of the Duaw Nasud.
Fr. Jayme said the image that arrived yesterday was blessed by Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.
Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto, who was among those who welcomed the image, said they are happy to have Calungsod.
“We gathered here to witness the homecoming of the second Filipino saint,” he said.
Former Congressman Raul del Mar of Cebu City’s north district was part of the Cebu delegation which included Matheu; lawyer Paterno Acabodillo, president of the Archdiocesan Council of the Laity of Cebu; its vice president Nida Ruiz, and businessman Jerry Alcover who has been the driver of Calungsod’s pilgrimages in Cebu.
Acabodillo said Calungsod’s sainthood sends a message that holiness is a pathy for everyone.
“Every layman is worthy to become a saint. What is important is just you observe the words of the Gospel and you as a layman should live according to his will,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Last Wednesday, Acabodillo said he slipped while strolling at a Cebu City mall where he was buying items for his travel to Manila.
He felt pain in his left leg and prayed for Calungsod’s intercession.
“When I woke up yesterday, the pain was gone. He really intercedes for us,” he said.
Del Mar, who is running for reelection as Cebu city congressman, said Calungsod was a model for the young.
“Hopefully, all of us will renew our lives. There is alwaysa room for improvement for us to become better persons,” said Del Mar, a papal awardee.
Del Mar said the youth in particular should emulate Calungsod’s courage in standing firm for the faith.
“He did not only live his faith. He made the supreme sacrifice of dying for his faith,” he said.
Del Mar said Calungsod sainthood should encourage Filipinos to listen to Church teachings especially against the controversial Reproductive Health Bill.
“We must follow the doctrines and teachings of the Church. We can’t live our faith if we go against the teachings of the church,” he said.
Calungsod was believed to be 17 years old when he joined a Jesuit mission to the Ladrones Islands, now known as Guam, in 1668.
On April 2, 1672, the boy and Fr. Diego de San Vitores, whom he served as lay catechist and helper, were speared and hacked dead by two angry villagers in Tumhon where the priest and Pedro were baptising a baby.
Calungsod was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI last Oct. 21, with six others.
He is the country’s second saint after San Lorenzo Ruiz.