Nine days before St. Pedro Calungsod's feast day, families around Auckland, welcomed his image in their homes at the same time introducing St. Pedro's life of faith to their younger family, through praying the rosary and novena together. Thank you to the families, Reyes-Jambalos, Taghoy, Amiscua, Mandawe, Cabiling, Cala, Tuburan, Apalisok and Magallanes for supporting and promoting the life lived by St. Pedro Calungsod.
St. Pedro is our youngest Filipino saint and martyr. "He was a teenage native of the Visayas region in the Philippines. He was among the first to serve the Mission organised by Father Diego Luis de San Vitores, SJ, in the Marianas on 16 June 1668. On 2nd April 1672, he was speared and struck to death with a cutlass together with Fr. Diego by two unbelieving villagers in Tomhon, Guam, for catechising and baptising the natives. Their bodies were thrown into the deep ocean. It was on this date, 2 April 1672, that Saint Pedro Calungsod was martyred (Leyson, 2012)."
On this day we commemorate the life of Saint Pedro Calungsod. His feast day is usually celebrated every 2nd of April. Though, because of the proximity of the day to Holy Week, the feast day of Saint Pedro Calungsod can shift. "Whenever this day falls within Holy Week or Easter Week, during which no feasts of saints may be observed, this feast is celebrated on the Saturday before Passion/Palm Sunday, that is, on the Saturday of the fifth week of Lent"
This year, to allow Filipino parishioners at Good Shepherd to conveniently participate in the feast, ACFC and the Saint Pedro Calungsod NZ devotees held the feast on Sunday 31 March. You may join us next year, and we invite you to join us as we spread the devotion to Saint Pedro Calungsod. House visits of St. Pedro's image is ongoing to. If interested, contact Delia Espenido at despenido54@yahoo.com.
Saint Pedro Calungsod, patron of Migrants, Lay Cathecists, Students and Altar Servers.
Help us to become saints like you!
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