Thanksgiving Mass for San Pedro Calungsod

Today is a milestone for the people in the Visayas as the Cebu Archdiocese plays host to the much-awaited Thanksgiving Mass for San Pedro Calungsod, who was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI last Oct. 21. Yes, we went to Rome to be amongst the thousands of Filipinos inside St. Peter’s Square to witness the historic canonization rites for San Pedro Calungsod and six other saints.

Although I have covered some international conferences or events, it was the first time for me to bring along my TV crew from SkyCable  and MyTV Channel 28. It was truly an exhilarating experience to see so many Filipinos right in the heart of Christendom at the Vatican. While the news reports say that there were some 7,000 Filipinos who flew to Rome, perhaps that figure came from the various travel agencies who reported this number to the government. But in my book, there could easily have been 50,000 to 70,000 Filipinos who went to Rome and you could feel it as almost every other person you meet on the street is a Filipino. Many of them Overseas FilipinoWorkers (OFWs) from Italy and in the many parts of Europe. 

But since not all of us could go to Rome, the Cebu Archdiocese came up with this idea of holding a Thanksgiving Mass… after all, San Pedro Calungsod is the second Filipino to be a saint and he came at the right time when there is a crisis of faith not only here in our country, but throughout the rest of the world. Even our Godless legislators, led by Rep. Edcel Lagman, twist or magnify reports that the Catholics are for the Reproductive Health (RH) bill… and that there is no such thing as a Catholic vote.

Perhaps in Manila, you will not feel the Catholic vote, but in the provinces, Filipinos are closer to their Catholic faith than what most people think. In fact, we’ve already written here that if a political contest is evenly divided… you can bet that the Catholic vote will be a deciding factor. So please to our politicos, don’t count out the Catholic vote…you could lose your political bid if you thought otherwise.

Today, the people of the Visayas will honor San Pedro Calungsod in their own way. For sure, we can expect at least a million to be at the South Road Properties (SRP) to pay homage to this Filipino saint. But it is not the first time that we’ve seen such a huge crowd gathered for a Catholic event. The first I recall was way back in 1961 at the Cebu North Reclamation when a Templete was constructed for the 400th anniversary (also called the 4th Centennial) of the Christianization of the Philippines.

The other huge Catholic event happened on Feb.19, 1981 when Pope John Paul II came to visit us in Cebu, where millions of Filipinos came and filled all the streets of Cebu City and at the old Lahug airport (now the AsiaTown I.T. Park) to hear the Pope say the Holy Mass. These are indeed unforgettable times for Catholics and I salute our fellow Filipinos for keeping the faith in this Year of Faith. I know that when push comes to shove, the Filipino will fight and die for Christ… just like San Pedro Calungsod.

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Greetings to the members of the Rotary Club of Cebu (Mother) on its 80th founding anniversary. The Rotary Club of Cebu was chartered a few years after the Rotary Club of Manila was created. Of course, the Philippines was still under the Commonwealth of the United States of America and since Rotary was an American civic organization, it was natural for the Philippines to embrace the ideals and the goals of the Rotary Club.

One of the Charter members of the Rotary Club of Cebu was my grandfather, Capt. Valeriano Jamala Segura who graduated as a Civil Engineer from Purdue University (he topped the exams for West Point, but was an inch too short of regulation height) and the oldest photograph that we have in our family is a photograph of both my grandparents, Capt. Valeriano Segura and Don Jose Avila during a Rotary function. This photograph was donated by the Avila Family to the Rotary Club of Cebu.

Today the Rotary Club of Cebu follows the legacy of our forefathers in giving service to our fellowmen. We were one of the first to respond to the world wide eradicate polio campaign, we created the Rotary Foundation that funds many projects including the Gift of Life Concerts that we held for two years to gain funds for children with congenital heart problems.

Last week, we held the 3rd Rotary Club Golf Tournament to celebrate our 80th year. Also, The Rotary Club of Cebu has a weekly talkshow entitled “My Rotary” on MyTV Channel 28 which is shown on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 7:00am and 10:00pm. So congratulations to our current President Mr. Jonathan Gesalem for keeping the torch that is handed down to other Presidents every year. Above all, congratulations to all Rotarians here in Cebu because they would not exist if the Mother Club wasn’t created 80 years ago.

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