Despite his youth and near anonymity, soon-to-be St. Pedro Calungsod occupies the second highest place of honor among the Blesseds to be canonized.
VATICAN City, Oct. 21, 2012—Pilgrims in Rome can now feast with their eyes on the beauty that was unfurled on the balconies of Saint Peter’s Basilica— the portraits of the seven Blesseds who will be canonized today.
The tapestry of Saint Pedro Calungsod can be seen third from the right, occupying the second place of honor in the balcony.
Msgr. Ildebrando Leyson, Vice-Postulator for the Canonization Cause of Blessed Pedro Calungsod, in an interview, explained that the center balcony is the highest place of honor, with the next ranks moving out from the center. The explanation for the ranking is decided by three factors: first, martyrs rank over non-martyrs; bishops rank higher than priests who rank higher than religious, and laypeople.
The six other Blesseds who will be canonized today with Blessed Pedro Calungsod include Blessed Jacques Berthieu, a Jesuit missionary in Madagascar who was martyred; Blessed Giovanni Battista Piamarta, founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth; Blessed Maria Carmen Salles, foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception; Blessed Marianne Cope, Sister of Saint Francis of Syracuse; Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, companion of the Jesuit missionaries in North America; and Blessed Anne Schaeffer, a German laywoman and mystic. [Aaron James R. Veloso/CBCPNews]
