0 Calungsod image to be flown to Rome Oct. 16

A three-foot-tall statue of Blessed Pedro Calungsod will be flown from Cebu to Rome for his canonization as the Philippines’ second saint on October 21.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the statue will be flown on October 16 as a “passenger” along with a Catholic priest from the Archdiocese of Cebu.

In a news release, Fr. Charles Jayme, who CBCP president and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma designated as the image’s official custodian, said, “I really take it as a blessing and gift from God being chosen for this. This is a humbling experience for me.”

Jayme said the experience “challenges me more to live up to the virtues of Blessed Pedro Calungsod.”
He explained that Cathay Pacific had offered to carry the statue as a passenger instead of just an ordinary hand baggage or cargo.

The image will be placed inside an encasement made of Styrofoam.

Farewell activities

The CBCP also said several activities will be held before the image is flown to Rome on October 16 at 12:30 p.m.

On October 15, the day before the flight, the image will be brought from the archbishop’s residence in Cebu City to the shrine named after Calungsod for a Mass at 6:30 p.m.

On October 16, the image will be carried from the shrine to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral for another liturgical celebration at 4:30 a.m.

A motorcade will follow at around 8 a.m. sending off the image from the cathedral to Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City.

After canonization

After the canonization, the image will be flown back to the Philippines for the “Duaw Nasud” to major cities in Luzon,  Visayas and Mindanao from October 25 to November 27.

The image is expected to be returned to Cebu City before the November 30 thanksgiving Mass for Pedro Calungsod’s sainthood.

VVP, GMA News

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