Follow Pedro, youth urged

Age should not be a hindrance to serving God, the bishop of the Diocese of Pasig said, as the city  welcomed the image of St. Pedro Calungsod yesterday.

In his homily at a Mass welcoming Calungsod’s image, Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara told the thousands who flocked to the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Barangay Malinao to look up to Calungsod, who at  14 years old, was already serving   God in many ways.

“He proved that, despite his  young age, he was already a servant of God,”  Vergara  said.

Calungsod had accompanied Jesuit missionaries to what is today known as Guam. He was persecuted and then murdered for his missionary work there in  1672.

“Today’s youth  fall into vices like drugs and alcohol. Hopefully, Calungsod can inspire today’s youth to throw all of these away and follow God,” Vergara added.

Calungsod’s image will later be brought to the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo City. Nathaniel R. Melican