Calungsod mosaic to be placed in St. Peter’s Basilica

PILGRIMS around the world will soon have a glimpse of St. Pedro Calungsod inside the magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma yesterday announced that Vatican officials already approved the request to enthrone an image of the Visayan martyr in one of the chapels of the basilica.

Palma said the mosaic of Calungsod is expected to be finished by October—a year after the second Filipino saint was canonized.

A painting of St. Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila already graces on the left side of the basilica’s main altar.

“If the image of San Lorenzo is put up at the basilica, then it’s also good to have an image of St. Pedro Calungsod there,” Palma told reporters.

The 63-year-old prelate presided over the pontifical Mass in celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel at the Carmelites Monastery in Mabolo, Cebu City yesterday.

Palma said it was the idea of Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See Merceditas Tuazon to request the Vatican to allow them to put up an image of Calungsod inside the St. Peter’s Basilica in recognition of the country’s contribution to Christianity.

Palma said Tuazon also sought the suggestions of Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and Msgr. Ildebrando Leyson, the rector of the Archdiocesan Shrine of San Pedro Calungsod in Cebu City.

Tuazon approached the cardinal in charge of the images at St. Peter’s Basilica and made the request to have Calungsod’s image inside the huge church.

“They were told that ‘we will try but we could not guarantee’ since there are already many saints at the basilica. But when Ambassador Tuazon came home, we’re happy to know that the request was approved. Thanks be to God,” Palma said. He said Calungsod’s mosaic is presently being prepared.

“She (Tuazon) has pictures of people working on the mosaic. Its design is exactly the same with the painting we have here in Cebu. That is the one they are putting up at St. Peter’s Basilica,” Palma said.

On Oct. 21, 2013, the Catholic Church will celebrate the first anniversary of Calungsod’s canonization.

Palma also said he can now spend more time with the Cebu Archdiocese after turning over the presidency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

The Cebu Archdiocese has over three million baptized Catholics. It is presently the largest archdiocese in the Philippines. Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol