Ana (not her real name) was diagnosed with a neck ailment that disrupts the flow of blood into her body.
She was subsequently advised to undergo surgery that would cost about P600,000 to P1 million.
Ana refused.
She instead entrusted her fate to God and leaned upon the intercession of another Cebuano who is a candidate for sainthood.
“If you have faith, you’ll get what you want,” she told Cebu Daily News.
The 64-year-old retired bank employee traveled by herself from her hometown in Barili in Southwestern Cebu to Carcar City on Wednesday and joined hundreds of people who trooped to the Daughters of St. Teresa (DST) compound to get a glimpse of the remains of the late Archbishop Teofilo Camomot who was exhumed from his tomb.
“I believe that he is now a saint. I hope he will be officially declared by the Church so that more people will seek his intercession and he could help more people,” Ana said.
A wax statue containing the skull and bones of Camomot was displayed for public viewing after it underwent forensic examination for about nine hours by Manila-based experts led by Dr. Erwin Erfe.
Fr. Samson Silloriquez, the Rome-based postulator for the cause of sainthood of Camomot, said the body was already corrupted.
“But it doesn’t mean he is not a saint. Even if his body is corrupted, that is not a condition that he is not in heaven,” he explained.
Silloriquez said Camomot’s bones were preserved by the forensic experts for future purposes.
“They counted the bones and put them together,” he said.
“We also got some parts of the bones to be used as relics. But these could not be used since he has not yet been declared a saint at this stage,” he added.
Camomot’s remains are set to be placed in its new tomb after the 4 p.m. Mass to be presided by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma today at the Domus Teofilo (House of Teofilo), a museum that houses the personal belongings and writings of Camomot.
Domus Teofilo is located about a hundred meters from its present tomb.
Camomot’s body was first exhumed from the public cemetery in Carcar City in 2009 and was transferred to the compound of the DST, a congregation that he founded.
Only Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, some priests, the DST sisters, and relatives of Camomot were allowed to witness the examination of the late archbishop’s body on Wednesday. The public were allowed to view Camomot’s remains starting 7 p.m.
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