A year since he sat up from Peter's Chair

We still miss you!

Lorenzo Ruiz, back in 1981...

Pope John Paul II visited the Philippines for his first papal visit from February 17 to 21.  The Holy Father visited several places then around the country, like Manila, Baguio, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao...(I might have missed another one).

But the highlight of this is the beatification of my dear lolo, Lorenzo Ruiz and his companion martyrs in Luneta Park on February 18, 1981!

This statue which still stands on Luneta Park is a gift of the Holy Father to the Filipino people on the occasion of the beatification of Lolo Lorenzo, the first beatification outside the Vatican.

And in case you didn't know, that tree behind the statue is the tree planted by Paul VI when he visited the country.

It has been 33 years since that day!

And according to tradition, Lolo Lorenzo might have been martyred at the age of 37.

The photo above is from this blog, where you can also read about the historic documentation of the martyrdom.

You can also grab a copy of  “Lorenzo de Manila, the Protomartyr of the Philippines and His Companions,” by Fr. Fidel Villaroel, OP, the prolific historian-saint maker, credited for the beatification and canonization of Lorenzo and his 15 companion martyrs.  The book is available via the UST Press.

Below is a photo essay of that historic visit to the country.  I still have vivid memories of that trip.  :)

A year since the announcement in Latin that was heard around the world.

Where were you when you heard the news?

Twisting Church history

The former pope and the current pope praying in the chapel of the Mater Ecclesiae Convent
where Benedict will spend his time in the prayer and silence.

I am catching up on the news after spending much of my time in the weekend with my brothers in different patron fiestas all around Metro Manila....*burp*  *hick* zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........

Well, anywho...

I read this article about the return of Pope Emeritus Benedict the Reformer to the Vatican and how he was welcomed by Pope Francis the Humble...

What caught my attention were these two paragraphs from the Religions News.com article.

According to Rebecca Rist, a specialist in church history [Specialist?  There is such a title for that?  Why not historian?]  at the University of Reading in Britain, the two popes will have a “very cordial” relationship, unlike the 13th-century scuffles between Celestine V and his successor Boniface VIII. [Uh-huh...we know how that ended right?  No?  Wikipedia!!!!]

Boniface persuaded Celestine [Da hell!!!!  Specialist?!?!  Persuaded?!?!  Celestine resigned without being forced to do so and it was not even Boniface who did that!  Where in the world did she get that?!]  that it was “in the best interests of the Vatican [What?!  The "Vatican" was not even used during the time of St. Celestine!] for him to resign,” Rist said. But Boniface, “fearing that enduring loyalties to the former pontiff could provoke a schism,” ordered Celestine imprisoned until his death.

See what you get when you have these so called "specialists" twisting history.

And so-called "freethinkers" would just take this in, hook line and sinker...

So much pretenders in the world.

Like the insituted acolyte (DAW!) who wears a clerical collar because it is the privilege (DAW!) of being a church organist (DAW!)....

I heard his once sing...

Makes me remember my farm trip in Batangas...

Poor cow.  *sniff*

Anywho, it was yummy bulalo soup afterwards!  Yeah!

The point here is: Media is so full of fact twisters and pseudo-historians, you really have to be careful who you deal with.

Church History Specialists?  Instituted Acolytes?

IN YOUR DREAMS SONNY!