Before the
Spaniards came in 1571, Kapampangans were pagans and Muslims. The fact that
they quickly embraced Catholicism (and later the other Christian denominations)
is a testament of not just the diligence of missionaries but also the inherent
religiosity and spirituality of the Kapampangans themselves. Here are a few known for the depth of their holiness, that could qualify them as future saints.
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1. MARTIN SANCHO, The
1st Filipino Jesuit (1593)
The distinction of becoming the first Filipino Jesuit
goes to a young boy savant who went to Spain to be presented to King Philip II
by his guardian, P. Alonzo Sanchez. Not yet 10 years old, Martin Sancho impressed the
court not just for his knowledge of Catechism but also for his pious ways. In
1593, Sancho became a Jesuit novice, but died upon his return to the Philippines in
1601, a victim of the white plague which he contracted in Europe.
2. Sor MARTHA de SAN
BERNARDO, The 1st Filipino Nun (1633)
Upon the death of Sor Martha de San Bernardo in 1630, at
least 15 Kapampangans initiated the inquiry for her possible beatification. The
saintly Kapampangan was the first Filipino nun, having broken barriers by being
accepted at the Santa Clara Monastery in Manila, which had previously banned “indias” into their fold. When the
Franciscan Provincial initially rejected the application, the Spanish nuns
pleaded that she be taken in. A Franciscan chronicler observed that “she was so
influential a woman, so noble and virtuous”. Thus, she was accepted, but sent
instead to a new monastery set to open in Macao. In 1633, she was invested with
her holy habit while on sea, to circumvent Spanish laws, and professed her vows
in the Macao—the first brown nun of the congregation. Sor Martha spent the rest of her life in holiness
and prayer, living up to the highest standards of the Spanish order.
3. Sor MADALENA DE LA
CONCEPCION, The 2nd Filipino Nun (1637)
This Kapampangan noblewoman--Madalena de la Concepcion-- was admitted directly to the
Sta. Clara of Manila, after the fine example shown by Sor Martha de San
Bernardo. She was clothe in the habit by her namesake, Abbess Madalena de Christo, and
professed her vows in 1637. According to her biographer, “she persevered in her
monastic life for 49 years in such an exemplary way…; in all those years, no
deficiency was noted in her compliance with the policies of the convent, ever
excelling with diligence in the most humble and difficult tasks…and always abhorring
positions of honor.” The virtuous nun died on 5 April 1685.
4. JUAN DE GUERRA, The
2nd Filipino Martyr after Lorenzo Ruiz (1640)
Juan de Guerra was part of the contingent of 4 diplomats
and 70 crewmen sent by the Portuguese city of Macao in 1640 to patch things up with the Japanese
anti-Christian officials. It must be remembered that Lorenzo Ruiz was executed
for his faith in Nagasaki—the first Filipino martyr. Little did everyone know
that the 30-year old seaman from Betis-- Juan de Guerra—would suffer the same
fate. At age 6, he had been living at Colegio de San Juan de Letran as a
student “interno”. Upon landing in Japan, all people on board were captured and
jailed for conspiracy to spread Christianity. They were taken to Nagasaki, at
the same place where Ruiz was martyred. Thirteen members of the crew were
spared, however, so they could return to Macao as bearers of the Japanese’s
warning. Juan de Guerra and a fellow Filipino, Juan Enriquez Carreon, were
among the 61 who were beheaded for their Christian faith. It was said that when
Manila received the news of their martyrdom, the city celebrated their noble deaths.
5. NICOLAS DE
FIGUEROA, The Valiant Martyr of Bacolor (1672)
The Jesuits began their evangelization work in the
Oceania with the Marianas Islands, led by Diego Luis de San Vitores and 5 other
Jesuits, with a band of soldiers, majority of which were Filipinos, to protect
the priests and pacify the native Chamorros. The group landed in Guam on 15
June 1668 and set up the mission there. In the group was a boy catechist from Bacolor,
Nicolas de Figueroa, who assisted the priests in their ministries. On 1 April
1672, a band of 20 Chamorros lay in wait to ambush Figueroa and 3 others, that
led to the killing of their Spanish companion, Manuel Rangel. Undaunted, the
brave Figueroa turned against their leader, killing him with a cutlass,
beheading him and chopping up his body, thus successfully scaring the Chamorros
away. Fleeing the scene, de Figueroa sought refuge in the village of Ipao, where natives tricked him—dragging him and pushing him from a
cliff. His body was repeatedly speared to ensure his death. A day after his
martyrdom, San Vitores and his teen aide, Pedro Calungsod, were also killed. In
1673, a Jesuit tribunal began proceedings in Guam to look into possible sainthood
for Figueroa.
6. JUAN DE LOS REYES,
The Gentle Martyr (1676)
As a member of the missionary group in Micronesia, Juan
de los Reyes was known for his extraordinary zeal in his ministerial work,
matched with a gentle temperament and conduct. As such, his superiors promoted
him to the rank of an “alferez”, holding him up as “an example to others,
charitable and thoughtful to the other soldiers”. On 6 September 1676, as de
los Reyes and his group (including Fray Sebastian de Monroy, a Spaniard and 5
soldiers) were preparing to set sail from Sumay village to Agana, Guam, they
were suddenly attacked with lances, clubs and deadly native weapons,
leaving them all dead.
7. PHELIPPE SONGSONG,
The Venerable Martyr of Macabebe (1685)
The life story of Phelippe Songsong (also, Felipe
Songsong) is perhaps the best documented of Filipinos in our Spanish colonial
history. A Jesuit chronicler from the period described his “life of heroic
sanctity” in the missions that led to his death. The Macabebe martyr was born
in 1611, after losing his wife, he left his material wealth to his son to
volunteer for the religious mission in the Marianas led by the future
saint, Diego de San Vitores. The group
of 17 also included Pedro Calungsod. In Agana, Songsong served the Jesuits
faithfuly as a domestic, carpenter, tailor, cook, and all-around help. Although
referred to as a “frater”, he, as a native, was never admitted to the order.
But his holiness was renown.His solid virtues were an example to his countrymen and
who, being a noble to his own people, is
now, we believe, from his blameless life, a noble citizen of the realm of heaven”. At the advance age of 73, Songsong was attacked by native heathens who
wounded his head and neck seriously. He lingered for 6 months and died while
kneeling in prayer on 11 Jan. 1685. Hailed as a saint, his coffin was carried
by the governor of Guam to his grave site to honor his sanctity. Meanwhile, San
Vitores and Calungsod have been declared saints, but the cause of Songsong has just begun.
8-9. THE SISTERS
TALANGPAZ, Servants of God
MADRE DIONICIA DE STA. MARIA TALANGPAZ (b.1691/d.1732)/ and MADRE CECILIA ROSA DE JESUS (b.1693/d.1731)
These nuns were half-Kapampangans. Both their paternal grandmother (Juana Mallari) and maternal grandfather (Agustin Sonsong de Pamintuan) were from Macabebe, Pampanga. Born in Calumpit, they founded the Beaterio de San Sebastian de Calumpang in 1719, thus making them only the second Filipino foundresses of a religious congregation. Their beaterio was just the 4th in the city, and the only one that was founded by native “indias’. The sisters suffered innumerable times while running the congregation, and at one point, polarizing the women into factions. There were aspirants who used the influence of powerful people to gain admittance into the order, while others were unable to give the required dowry. This led to the sisters’ being ousted from their rented place. But they overcame all these and today, their religious community is the oldest non-contemplative congregation in the Recoleto order. Devotees of the Talangpaz sisters, Mother Dionisia and Cecilia Rosa, applied for their beatification and the cause was accepted in 1999, thus entitling the sisters as "Servants of God."
These nuns were half-Kapampangans. Both their paternal grandmother (Juana Mallari) and maternal grandfather (Agustin Sonsong de Pamintuan) were from Macabebe, Pampanga. Born in Calumpit, they founded the Beaterio de San Sebastian de Calumpang in 1719, thus making them only the second Filipino foundresses of a religious congregation. Their beaterio was just the 4th in the city, and the only one that was founded by native “indias’. The sisters suffered innumerable times while running the congregation, and at one point, polarizing the women into factions. There were aspirants who used the influence of powerful people to gain admittance into the order, while others were unable to give the required dowry. This led to the sisters’ being ousted from their rented place. But they overcame all these and today, their religious community is the oldest non-contemplative congregation in the Recoleto order. Devotees of the Talangpaz sisters, Mother Dionisia and Cecilia Rosa, applied for their beatification and the cause was accepted in 1999, thus entitling the sisters as "Servants of God."
BONUS! A Future Saint Who Walked Among Kapampangans:
FR. CARLOS BRAGA SDB
The life and heroic virtues of Fr. Carlos Braga—“the
little Don Bosco of China”---are now under study in
Vatican for his future sainthood.
Born in Tirano, Sondrio, Italy, the motherless child was entrusted to the Salesians of
Don Bosco and became a priest of that order. In the 1st World War,
he was sent to the Far East and served in southern China as a director of the
Don Bosco Middle School in Shiu Chow. Don Braga is credited with the erection
of many orphanages and schools in Macao
and Hong Kong, and the expansion of
Salesian ministry to Beijing.
Don Braga reached the Philippines in 1953
and was designated as the first Provincial Superior in 1955. Under his helm, the Salesian mission in the Philippines
flourished, schools were founded all over the country, including the first ever Don Bosco school in Tarlac, and Don Bosco Pampanga which credits him as a co-founder in 1956. He died in 1971 in Bacolor, Pampanga where he was
staying, both as a Confessor and Salesian Director. Four decades years after
his death, the Philippine Salesians filed a petition for his beatification, and
the Diocesan inquiry began in 2014 in San Fernando, Pampanga.
SOURCES:
Santiago, Dr. Luciano P.R., Laying the Foundations:
Kapampangan Pioneers in the Philippine Church 1592-2001, Center for Kapampangan
Studies, Holy Angel University 2002.
Tantingco, Robby P. : Felipe Sonsong: From Macabebe Soldier to Saintly Missionary, Center for Kapampangan Studies, 2018
Carlo Braga:
“Inquiry on Canonization of Salesian Opens Today”, https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/327296
“China – The cause of the Servant of God Fr Carlo Braga
SDB is moving slowly ahead”, http://www.infoans.org/en/sections/news/item/1200-china-the-cause-of-the-servant-of-god-fr-carlo-braga-sdb-is-moving-slowly-ahead
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