Pedro Calungsod

Who was Pedro Calungsod?

Saint Pedro Calungsod, also known as Saint Pedro Calungsod or Pedro Calonsor, is a Roman Catholic young Filipino saint and was a migrant, sacristan and missionary catechist, who along with the Spanish Jesuit missionary, Diego Luis de San Vitores, suffered religious persecution and martyrdom in Guam for their missionary work in 1672.

While in Guam, Calungsod preached Christianity to the Chamorro people through catechism, while baptizing infants, children and adults at the risk and expense of being persecuted and eventually murdered. Through Calungsod and San Vitores' missionary efforts, many native Chamorros converted to Roman Catholicism.

Calungsod was formally beatified on 5 March 2000 by Pope John Paul II. Calungsod was officially canonized by Pope Benedict XVI at Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on 21 October 2012.