Diocese celebrates feast of two Filipino saints

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SALT LAKE CITY – On Sept. 27, the Cathedral of the Madeleine celebrated a special Mass honoring the feast of two Filipino saints, St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St. Pedro Calungsod.

The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Oscar A. Solis; concelebrants were Fr. Rodelio Ignacio, parochial vicar of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Park City, Fr. Ariel Durian, administrator of St. Peter Church in American Fork; Fr. Noel Ancheta, chaplain of University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City; and Fr. Joshua Santos, parochial vicar of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish and chaplain of Utah State University in Logan. The bishop and all of the priests are natives of the Philippines.

Deacon John Kranz was the deacon for the celebration.

Dozens of Filipino Catholics attended the celebration, respecting social distancing requirements as well as the mask regulations due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

 Bishop Solis welcomed them, and thanked them for their presence at the celebration.

“Today we are also gathered with the Filipino community in our diocese to honor and say the prayers of St. Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila and St. Pedro Calungsod of Sebul. … finding inspiration in their lives and witness of discipleship even while away from home, confident in God’s abiding mercy,” the bishop said.

In his homily, the bishop said, “Our loving God is an amazing redeemer; he uses many occasions and circumstances in our lives in order to teach us in order to avail of the gift of salvation that he offers us.”

Asking what kind of disciples the members of the congregation are, Bishop Solis said that all of them needed to have a sincerity of heart.

“Saying ‘yes’ to the Lord means saying yes, and saying ‘no’ to sin means no to sin,” he said, adding that “words are cheap and actions matter. … Actions speak louder than words.”

“When we say we love God, the love is manifested in our actions and deeds,” said the bishop, adding that the two Filipino saints whose feast was being celebrated were the epitome of God’s unconditional love, “and that is why they become saints and heroes.”

St. Lorenzo Ruiz is the first canonized Filipino martyr. Born in 1600 in Binondo, Manila, he was educated by Dominican priests and served as a parish clerk. In 1636, he sailed with missionaries to Japan, where Christians were being persecuted. There he was imprisoned and tortured, and told to renounce his faith or die. Ruiz declared, “I am a Christian, and I will remain a Christian even to the point of death. Only to God will I offer my life.”

He and 16 companions were martyred in 1637. All 17 were beatified in 1981 during Pope John Paul II’s first visit to the Philippines.

St. Pedro Calungsod, a teen catechist, was killed in Guam in the 17th century. Records of Jesuit missionaries recount St. Pedro dying trying to protect his mentor, Jesuit Father Diego Jose Luis San Vitores, a missionary who was also killed.

Bishop Solis said that the saints never hesitated to give their lives to God.

By offering their lives in the name of their love to Jesus, they gave “a wonderful example of a good disciple of Christ,” said Bishop Solis, asking those present to invoke the intercession of the saints “so their life and example will be a source of inspiration for us, a source of courage, perseverance and commitment.”

After the homily Bishop Solis and the concelebrants went in front of the two statues of the two saints that were placed in front of the altar and prayed to them.

In previous years, the celebration included a procession and a reception, but this year due to the pandemic, both were cancelled.