Vidal to choose official Calungsod image on Friday

CEBU, Philippines - The Archbishop emeritus of Cebu, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, will choose on Friday the official image of Blessed Pedro Calungsod which will be used in the canonization on October 21.

Cardinal Vidal, who is tasked to select the official icon of the martyred Cebuano, will choose from among the five images of Blessed Pedro Calungsod available in the country. Four of which were made in Cebu while the last one is a wooden sculpture currently being carved in Paete, Laguna.

The last image is scheduled to be finished soon and will be in Cebu on Friday in time for the scheduled selection. The prelate said the sculpture will stand over 5 feet tall, or about the size of an average 17-year-old Filipino.

Vidal said that it was only last week, during a gathering in Manila that Church leaders decided to make another image of Calungsod in Paete, which is known for wood carvings. This latest statue will conform to the desired image laid down by the Archdiocese of Cebu.

Contrary to what was agreed upon earlier, Vidal said, Calungsod will not be presented barefoot.

“May something na to protect his feet but simpleng sandal lang,” he said, adding that accounts they have gathered showed that slippers were already used in the 1670s.

The Cardinal said Calungsod’s icon will be that of a young man to distinguish him from Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint, who was a family man. He will also have the looks of a Filipino, particularly of a Bisaya.

His image will hold the Doctrina Christiana or Book of Catechism and a palm leaf which symbolizes his martyrdom will be attached to his body. Instead of white long pants, the image will wear a pair of pants that is a little bit black and a little bit short to differ from Ruiz.

“Calungsod’s image must be on the move, not stationary. So naka-move forward ang isang paa niya,” the Cardinal said.

Fr. Jose Quilongquilong, a Cebuano priest and superior of House of Theology, will bring the said image from Paete to Cebu.

Pedro Calungsod, who died in 1672, was a young Catholic Filipino sacristan and missionary catechist, who along with Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores, was persecuted and killed while doing missionary work in Guam.

He was beatified on March 5, 2000 by Blessed Pope John Paul II and is set to be canonized in Rome on October 21. — (FREEMAN)