Cebuano gets re-elected Vatican representative

CEBU, Philippines - Robert Canton, a Cebuano who is now residing in Stockton, California, was unanimously re-elected to his third three-year term to represent the Vatican-based International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services(ICCRS) to the English-speaking North and Central America as well as the Caribbean countries, during its most recent meeting on November 18-23, 2013 in Bethlehem, Holy Land.

Mr. Canton is one of the 14 Council members who represent ICCRS to all the continents in the world. He represents approximately 16 million Roman Catholic Charismatics in the region who are active in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, a movement within the Roman Catholic Church which emphasizes the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as a way to enhance their faith.

The ICCRS was established in the Vatican in 1973 by the Pontifical Council of the Laity. It operates as an information and communication center serving the Catholic Charismatic Renewal worldwide as well as also being the link between the Renewal and the Vatican. It meets regularly with the Holy See to obtain indications and consultations while keeping them informed on the growth within the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. According to ICCRS estimates, there are 130 million Roman Catholics who received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in 230 countries. The ICCRS Council meets annually for one week, usually in Rome.

Mr. Canton was first elected to ICCRS in 2007, and has served in the Finance and Newsletter Committees. In September 2010, he facilitated the first North American ICCRS-sponsored International Leadership Training Course which was held at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. He was one of the few invitees to attend the Vatican-sponsored Colloquium on the Charisms of The Holy Spirit in 2008 and the Colloquium on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in 2011.

Mr. Canton has also traveled to many countries as an ICCRS speaker, the latest of which was in Brazil in July 2013, and to conduct Workshops and Healing Rallies at International Catholic Charismatic Conferences. He just recently returned from Bethlehem  as one of the invitees to the Prophetic Consultations which was attended by 170 participants from 48 countries including bishops, priests, deacons, religious, and lay leaders. He is also one of the 25 invitees worldwide to participate in the Colloquium on Deliverance to be held in the Vatican in April 2014. The participants in this Colloquium are slated to meet privately with His Holiness, Pope Francis.

Mr. Canton, who is very active in the preaching, teaching, and healing ministry, has so far ministered in 48 countries all over the world since 1996. He is  scheduled to conduct Healing Crusades in Uganda, Africa in July 2014 and in the Philippines in November 2014. He had the privilege to meet privately with Pope Benedict XV1, now Pope Emeritus, in 2011 and with the Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, who recently retired.

Aside from his duties as ICCRS Council member, Mr. Canton is the head servant leader of the Children of God Prayer Community of St. Luke's Parish in Stockton and the National Coordinator of the Alliance of Filipino Catholic Charismatic Prayer Communities in North America, an umbrella organization which is composed of over 5,000 Filipino and part Filipino prayer groups and prayer communities in North America.

He was born and raised in Cebu City. He went to reside in the United States in 1973 after obtaining his Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from the University of San Carlos. He took an early retirement from his job as Senior Auditor-Appraiser from the State of California in 2008 to devote his time entirely on his ministry.

“ It is only by the grace of God and by the power of His Holy Spirit that I am able to serve the Lord and His people in this capacity in spite of my many limitations and I pray that the Lord will be glorified in whatever we say and do in His Name,” Mr. Canton said after his re-election.

He is married to the former Chita Romero from Pangasinan, a Registered Nurse. They have two daughters, a practicing Dentist and a psychologist. (FREEMAN)