MANILA, Nov. 9, 2012 ?Despite clamor for the Pedrito doll, a wide-eyed, modern version of St. Pedro Calungsod, some wonder if it can really plant the desire for holiness in kids. Apparently, its success really depends on the parents.
Two school-age brothers, Ferdinand and Christopher pose with Pedrito in Rome, Italy before the canonization.
When asked whether or not a doll could possibly inspire aspirations for sainthood in the young, Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said, “It really depends on the parents.”
Cardinal Vidal explained, parents’ guidance and “catechesis” about sainthood to their children is the secret ingredient to Pedrito’s effectiveness.
“It depends on the transmission of faith. [It will work] If they explain, he was a saint and you can be a saint also,” Cardinal Vidal added, explaining that the way parents present Pedrito is crucial to making sainthood accessible and attractive to young minds.
Eilleen Esteban, head of the New Media team under the National Commission for the canonization of Calungsod, explained the Pedrito doll was “a marketing tool” and was never meant to be a religious article.
Pedrito was initially designed to be an instantly recognizable icon for the online geo-tagging of the official image of St. Pedro before his canonization in Rome.
There were several pre-canonization liturgical services in Rome like the Triduum masses and vespers organized during the last few days leading to October 21.
Orders for the Pedrito doll can be placed on the official St. Pedro Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/FilipinoSaintPedroCalungsod or through email, sanpedrocalungsod@gmail.com. Dolls sell for Php 650.00 each. [Nirva’ana Ella Delacruz]
