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THE
First Family may soon find itself having a saint for a
relative, as a Vatican-based priest offers to gather
testimonies for the beatification of a great-grandaunt
of the President’s husband, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo.
CBCP
News, the media service of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), reported that a
movement was pushing for the beatification of Mother
Rosario Arroyo, founder of the Dominican Sisters of the
Most Holy Rosary.
Sister
Leonor Gerlito, member of the Mother Rosario Arroyo
Commission, said moves for Mr. Arroyo’s
great-grandaunt’s impending sainthood gained headway
when Fr. Sam Silloriquez, a Vatican-based priest,
visited the country last month.
“We
actually launched our movement in 2004 but it was only
recently when we were assisted by Fr. Sam Silloriquez,”
said Gerlito.
She said
Silloriquez offered to help gather testimonies for
Arroyo’s beatification. If she passes through the
Vatican’s rigorous sainthood process, “Madre Sayong” or
“Madre Maestra,” as Arroyo is fondly called, will be the
Philippines’ second saint next to San Lorenzo Ruiz.
Under
rules of the Catholic Church, a candidate must first be
beatified to become a “venerable” and then “blessed” by
Vatican before becoming a saint.
Mother
Ignacia del Espiritu Santo was given the title venerable
last January and Pedro Calungsod was declared blessed
sometime in the 1990’s.
In
February this year, the Vatican issued new guidelines
for sainthood following criticisms that it was becoming
less rigorous in confirming applicants.
Reports
said there are currently 2,200 dossiers Pending, with
some filed for decades or even centuries.
In his
27 years as pontiff, Pope John Paul II beatified more
than 1,338 people and canonized 482, according to
reports.
Born as
Maria Beatriz del Rosario Arroyo in Molo, Iloilo on
February 17, 1884, Madre Sayong joined the religious
life in the Beaterio de Sta. Catalina in Manila and made
her profession on January 3, 1914.
Her
parents are Don Ignacio Arroyo and Dona Maria Pidal. She
was their only daughter in a brood of three. Her
brothers are Jose Maria Arroyo and Mariano Arroyo.
While
the two Arroyos made their life in politics, Madre
Sayong chose to live in poverty.
Sen.
Jose Mariano Arroyo got married and produced seven
children, one of whom was Ignacio Arroyo, the father of
President’s husband.
“Despite
her family background, she was a great lover of poverty
and did much to alleviate the miseries of the poor,
materially and spiritually. She was well known for her
assiduous mortifications, unceasing prayers and purity
of life,” Gerlito said.
“Her
life can perhaps be best pictured in paradoxes—born into
wealth, she chose a life of poverty; gentle by nature,
she was strong in the faith; almost always in position
of authority, she was ever ready to be of service to
others,” she added.
Madre
Sayong died on June 14, 1957. The commission is calling
on all Filipinos to pray for her beatification as a
saint.
Lingayen
Archbishop Oscar Cruz, a strong critic of the Arroyos,
said Madre Sayong’s promotion to sainthood is a “vibrant
invitation for people to live in truth, honesty, and
integrity.”
Cruz,
who has been calling for President Arroyo’s resignation
over various scandals involving her and her husband,
said, “Sainthood is not really a matter of blood
affiliation but instead the fruit of a personal resolve
to be pro-God and pro-man always.” |
