Woman says Pedro saved her eyesight

Two doctors told her that  her vision problem was due to a blood clot in her left eye, and that she had a  99 percent chance of losing her  eyesight.

Despite the fear and uncertainty, 44-year-old Felicitas Castro  of Talisay City didn’t lose hope.

She said she prayed to God through the intercession of  Blessed Pedro Calungsod.

Nine years after the diagnosis, Castro said she is healed.

“The doctors told me that it was a miracle that I didn’t  lose my eyesight,” she said.

Stories of healing are not an uncommon experience for grateful  devotees of Calungsod.

Castro  visited the Blessed Pedro Calungsod Shrine yesterday in Cebu City to give  thanks and to continue praying to the Visayan martyr  who will be canonized on Oct. 21 in the Vatican.

She recalled that after receiving the grim diagnosis, the first thing that came to her mind was the welfare of her five children.

“Nahadlok ko nga mabuta ko kay gagmay pa akong mga anak. Kinsa’y mubantay nila? (I was afraid to become blind because my children are still young. Who would  take care of them?),” she said.

Castro underwent a laser eye operation a few years after the diagnosis but her condition didn’t improve.

In despair, she asked her  mother, an active member of a cooperative near the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, for advice.

Castro’s mother asked her to seek Calungsod’s intercession.

After the  operation, Castro frequented healing Masses and prayed at the Calungsod Shrine.

Slowly,  Castro felt her eyesight improving.

When she had her illness, she was operating a sari-sari store. After her healing, Castro became an agent of real estate properties.

She said she doesn’t know whether her illness will return, but Castro said she will still visit and seek Calungsod’s intercession before God and encouraged others who are ill to lean on their faith.

“Dili lang gyod sila mawad-an ug hope kay bisag unsa atong pangayoon, bisag kang kinsa nga santos, iya gyod ng ihatag nato (They must not lose hope because whatever we ask for, even from different saints we ask for, they will provide us what we need),” Castro said. Contributor Joy Cherry Quito