Pedrito’s call: Super heroes don’t exist, but saints do

Pedrito is no ordinary toy.

The 15-inch doll cast in the image of the teenage St. Pedro Calungsod is intended to inspire  children to become saints, said Eilleen Esteban, head of the new media team under the National Commission for the canonization of the Visayan martyr.

In an interview with the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines News, Esteban  said she hoped that someday “Kids would rather dream of becoming a saint than a super hero because there are no real super heroes. But everyone can be a saint.”

She, however, cautioned that the Pedrito dolls should not be mistaken for religious images to be  venerated on altars.

Cebuano iconographer Louie Nacorda said he  wants a Pedrito doll for his own collection.

“If the doll will help Filipino Catholics specially our youngsters get closer to our new saint, then its okay,” he told Cebu Daily News.

The official image of Calungsod was yesterday transferred from the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila to the our Lady of Inmaculate Concepcion in Pasig City .

At UST, several people lined up to touch or  kiss the image encased in glass.

The image is on a nationwide tour or Duaw Lungsod before heading back to Cebu City for a national thanksgiving Mass on Nov. 30 in the South Road Properties.

Calungsod was 12 or 13 years old when he left for the Marianas Islands in 1668 to join a Jesuit mission to evangelize the Chamorros.

He was killed with Fr. Luis de San Vitores in 1672. Over 300 years later, the teenager was cannoized in the Vatican by Pope Benedict XVI in Oct. 21 rites attended by almost 5,000 Filipino pilgrims and witnessed by a global audience.

“San Pedro Calungsod to me is more than just a saint of the Catholic Church. He is also a young Filipino worth emulating for his brave and selflessness stand for his faith,” said Nacorda.

Nacorda said he already ordered online for a Pedrito doll.

“I’m still waiting for  advice when Pedrito will be delivered to my residence,” he said.

Esteban explained that the original purpose for the Pedrito doll was “to aid the online geo-tagging scheme that would track the itinerary of Calungsod’s official image around Rome for the  canonization and eventually, when it flies back to the Philippines.  Pedrito carries a ‘missionary’ sling bag and a tablet-sized Doctrina Christiana.