Before and after a March 26 Mass honoring the feast of St. Pedro Calungsod – a patron saint of the Philippines and of youth – Filipino Catholic children and teens played a central role and took center stage.

Helping to lead a procession before the Mass were 11 little boys who were dressed as St. Pedro, wearing white shirts and holding palm fronds, as the 17^th century saint is usually depicted. Behind them, a man pushed a cart bearing a statue of the teen saint, who was a missionary in Guam helping to teach the faith and assisting in bringing sacraments to the people there when he was martyred in 1672.

Then after the Mass at St. Columba Church in Oxon Hill, Maryland – which has a large population of Catholics with family roots in the Philippines – members of the parish’s youth group got on stage during a reception and danced to accompany a song about the saint.

New Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala was the main celebrant at the Mass, which was sponsored by the Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

“St. Pedro continues to do his ministry, bringing people together and bringing people to Christ,” Bishop Menjivar said. Hundreds of people attended the Mass, which opened with a procession to the altar and was followed by an outdoor procession honoring the young saint, and then the reception in the parish hall.

The bishop noted that St. Pedro Calungsod loved the people he served so much “that he gave his life to bring them the good news of salvation.” He quoted Pope St. John Paul II at the beatification of the future saint in 2000, when the pontiff said, “From his childhood, Pedro Calungsod declared himself unwaveringly for Christ and responded generously to his call. Young people today can draw encouragement and strength from the example of Pedro, whose love of Jesus inspired him to devote his teenage years to teaching the faith as a lay catechist.”

Bishop Menjivar encouraged young people, and those who are not so young, to follow God’s call, whether that is to priesthood or religious life or married life or to being part of parish ministries. “Please have the courage and the freedom to say ‘yes,’” the bishop said.

When Pope Benedict XVI canonized St. Pedro Calungsod in 2012, he noted how the young missionary who was known for giving witness to Christ could have escaped to safety, but he stayed by the side of a priest who was also killed. Pope Benedict then expressed hope that St. Pedro’s “example and courageous witness” will continue to inspire the people of the Philippines  “to announce the kingdom bravely and to win souls for God.”

In his homily at the March 26 Mass, Bishop Menjivar praised the legacy of faith of that nation’s Catholics. “We know how God is using you Filipinos to spread the Gospel around the world,” he said, adding, “as you bring your faith, you bring Jesus, and you become missionary disciples just like St. Pedro.”

Concluding his homily, the bishop said, “Nothing is impossible for those who believe. Nothing is impossible for those who love. May St. Pedro Calungsod intercede for us, so we may grow in faith, hope and love, and so that we may live for God now and forever.”

The Mass was concelebrated by Father Gary Villanueva, the pastor of St. Columba Parish, and by Father Patrick Agustin, who grew up in that parish and graduated from its school and who now serves as a parochial vicar at St. Martin of Tours Parish in Gaithersburg and as the chaplain for Filipino Catholics in the archdiocese. Assisting at the Mass were Deacon Robert Villanueva of St. Columba Parish and Carmelite Brother Von Erick Maria Sandoval.

After Communion, Bishop Menjivar led the congregation in a prayer to St. Pedro Calungsod which noted that he was a “student, catechist, young migrant, missionary, faithful friend and martyr” who inspires people today by his “fidelity in time of adversity” and the love he showed by being willing to die for the sake of the Gospel.

Among those joining the procession honoring the saint after Mass was Sister Leilani Guzman Dumaliang, a member of the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus who serves as director of religious education at St. John the Evangelist Church in Clinton, Maryland. “Being a catechist, that’s our mission. He (St. Pedro) is really a model for us to be a good catechist, to spread the Good News everywhere,” she said.

As he walked in the procession, Father Agustin said St. Pedro is “a model for youth,” who can follow his example today by being faithful in their daily life, by going to Mass, praying, doing well in school and obeying their parents.

At the reception, Janet Harmon, the retired longtime director of religious education at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Lexington Park who now assists Father Agustin in his ministry to Filipino Catholics, said St. Pedro’s example of being filled with love for Christ as a youth and wanting to share his faith with others continues to inspire people today. 

That, she said, is why she brought her two young grandsons, who are 5 and 7 years old, to the Mass and reception honoring St. Pedro, “to see they can become saints even at a young age and strive for holiness.”

At the reception, Sister Luz Domingo, another member of the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus who serves as St. Columba Parish’s religious education coordinator, noted that the 11 little boys dressed as St. Pedro Calungsod ranged from kindergarten students to third graders and came from her parish and Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Waldorf and St. John the Evangelist Parish in Clinton.

One of those young boys, Earl Jacob, a third grader from Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Elementary School in Waldorf that is named for an early Maryland leader who served in the Continental Congress,  said he liked St. Pedro because “he prays. He’s a Filipino, too.”

In addition to the dance performance by the youth group, St. Columba Parish’s combined choir sang a song about the saint at the reception. Participants also viewed a short video on the life of St. Pedro narrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines who leads the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization.

The reception was hosted by members of the Filipino Ministry of St. Columba Parish and featured that country’s cuisine, including pancit bihon, a noodle dish; pork menudo; chicken teriyaki; honey fried chicken; bananas wrapped in a spring roll; egg rolls; a coconut and fruit salad; and a seven-layer vegetable salad.

At that gathering, some members of the youth group were asked what they admired about St. Pedro Calungsod.

Tatiana Carter, a student at Potomac High School in Oxon Hill, said today’s youth “can learn his persistence, to keep going in life. Even though times were tough, he kept going.”

 Johnvincent Timbol, an eighth grader at Oxon Hill Middle School, said St. Pedro “followed Jesus. He was a missionary of Christ.”

Behind the stage where the youth group had performed, a banner was hung depicting the teen saint looking upward, wearing a white shirt and holding a palm frond, with the words, “Happy Feast Day! Viva! San Pedro Calungsod,” a sign that more than 350 years after his death, his story and legacy lives on.