Pope Francis blesses Calungsod mosaic

POPE Francis blessed the mosaic of San Pedro Calungsod inside the magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy yesterday.

The mosaic representing the first Visayan martyr was enthroned at the crypt beneath the main altar of the basilica, down to the tomb where the bones of St. Peter the Apostle and succeeding popes are venerated.

The mosaic’s design is patterned after an artist’s rendition of what Calungsod may have looked like found in Cebu.

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle presided over the Mass after Calungsod’s mosaic was blessed by the Holy Father.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), was unable to attend the event since he was spearheading the archdiocese’s typhoon relief efforts.

Msgr. Ildebrando Leyson, the vice postulator of Calungsod’s cause for sainthood and the rector of the St. Pedro Calungsod Shrine in Cebu City, went to Rome to attend the ceremony.

In an interview, Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said it’s an honor for the country’s church that the image of another Filipino saint is enthroned inside St. Peter’s Basilica.

“The place where San Pedro Calungsod’s image was placed is very nice because it’s near the tomb of the popes. Bihira lang yan. (That’s a rare opportunity). If you go on a pilgrimage to Rome, you will see that (Calungsod mosaic),” he said.

A painting of St. Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, the first Filipino saint, already graces a place at the left side of the basilica’s main altar.

In his message at the CBCP website, Palma said Filipinos should feel privileged to have the images of Saints Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungsod inside the St. Peter’s Basilica.

Palma said it was the idea of Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See Merceditas Tuazon to request the Vatican to allow them to put up an image of Calungsod inside the St. Peter’s Basilica in recognition of the country’s contribution to Christianity.

Fr. Bonnin Olivar, a Cebuano priest studying in Rome, said Filipinos should be proud of having Calungsod’s image inside St. Peter’s Basilica because not everyone gets that opportunity.

“Not all images of saints are given the space near the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle. This is an honor for us,” Olivar told Cebu Daily News through Facebook.

A FORMER chief of staff of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and the son of former Cebu City mayor Alvin Garcia are both gunning for top posts in their respective fields after winning in last month’s barangay elections.

Barangay Tisa chairman Philip Zafra is said to be the top choice by the mayor’s Team Rama camp to run for president of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC).

Incoming barangay Camputhaw councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia, expressed his interest to run for president of the Barangay Councilors League of the Philippines (BCLP) Cebu City Chapter.

Rama said he will be “comfortable” if both Zafra and Garcia run for these posts. Elections for the ABC and BCLP are scheduled next month. The new sets of barangay officials will assume office on Dec. 1.

But Rama said while he supports Zafra for ABC president, he won’t “abandon” Punta barangay captain Jose Navarro, a former ABC president.

While he won’t say if he will include Navarro in the Team Rama slate for the ABC, Rama said he intends to continue working with Navarro whom he described to be a loyal party man and a seasoned public servant.

Former mayor and Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) leader Tomas Osmeña said the ABC election won’t be a big thing for his group.

He said Team Rama now has majority of the barangay officials so it won’t come as a surprise if they win the ABC presidency.

After the Oct. 28 election, Team Rama had 41 winning barangay chairpersons on their side while BO-PK only had 39.

“They have the numbers so why will we think of something that we have no control? We will just observe,” Osmeña said.

He said he would rather “count their blessings that we have almost half.”