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A second Filipino saint is expected to be canonized in October but details of the "miraculous healing" which led to Visayan martyr Pedro Calungsod's promotion to sainthood remain unknown to many to this day.
However, "initial details" about the supposed miracle based on the account of Catholic priest Ildebrando Leyson have been posted on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Website Wednesday.
Leyson, a leading advocate for Calungsod's sainthood, said the 2003 incident involved a woman who was in comatose for several weeks in a Cebu Ciy hospital over hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, or lack of oxygen in the brain.
"The doctor himself who knew... that the patient would die anytime prayed before Pedro Calungsod to save the life of his patient," Leyson said.
To the doctor's surprise, the woman regained consciousness four hours later and has since fully recovered, he added. This, as he noted that patients who had been in coma for prolonged period seldom recover.
"If there are chances of recovery, it's not a complete recovery. Others get paralyzed because the brain is so delicate," Leyson added.
He added that the woman involved in the "miracle" is now a devotee of Calungsod and is serving as a church volunteer.
Her rapid recovery puzzled the hospital, Leyson said, adding that even Vatican doctors declared it a "supernatural healing."
Pope Benedict XVI in December said the woman's healing was "a miracle obtained through the intercession of Calungsod who would be second Filipino saint," the CBCP said.
The first Filipino saint was Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1987.
The Pope is expected to canonize Calungsod on Oct. 21 along with six others. These are French martyr Jacques Berthieu, Italian priest Giovanni Battista Piamarta, Spanish religious Maria del Carmen, Germna religious Maria Anna Cope, American laywoman Kateri Tekakwitha, and German laywoman Anna Schaffer.
Calungsod, beatified by Pope John Paul II in March 2000, was tortured and killed with a spear and a machete blow to the skull while doing missionary work in Guam in 1672. He was 17.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday announced a $1.8-billion military upgrade to help defend his country's maritime territory against "bullies", amid an ever-worsening dispute with China.
