Pedro Calungsod was a young man from the Visayas region in the Philippines: born in 1654 in the territory of Cebu, he attended the Jesuit missions as a boy until he became a catechist. Young, local natives like Pedro who were trained from a cultural and spiritual point of view could be a valuable help to preach and be an instrument of conversion. Therefore, at the end of a two-year journey Pedro became one of the catechists who, together with the Spanish Jesuit missionaries, went as far as the Mariana Islands to evangelize the Chamorros, obtaining many conversions. However, a Chinese healer, called Choco, who was envious of missionaries, began to spread the rumor that baptismal water was poisonous. Since some children had died after being baptized when they were already sick, many believed in the slanderer. Choco's evil campaign was also quickly supported by some superstitious indigenous people and immoral customs who began to persecute the missionaries. On April 2, 1672, Pedro - who must have been about seventeen at the time - and the superior of the mission, Father Diego Luis de San Vitores, arrived in the village of Tomhom on the island of Guam to baptize a child. But the child's father, called Matapang, angrily refused baptism for his daughter. Determined to kill the missionaries, Matapang tried to win over another villager, named Hirao, and together they began to throw spears at Pedro who dodged the darts with remarkable dexterity. The boy would have had every chance to escape given his agility, but he did not want to leave Father Diego alone. Because he was a very brave boy, Pedro would have gotten the better of his proud attackers, if only he had some weapon to defend himself with. But Father Diego never allowed his companions to carry weapons with them. Pedro was thus reached by a dart to his chest and Hirao ended it with a half scimitar shot to the head. The killers finally killed Father Diego and threw both bodies into the depths of the ocean. The mortal remains of the martyrs could never be recovered. The catechist Pedro Calungsod was beatified on March 5, 2000 by St. John Paul II and canonized by Benedict XVI on October 21, 2012. During the homily, Benedict XVI said: "May the example and courageous witness of Pedro Calungsod inspire the dear people of the Philippines to announce the Kingdom bravely and to win souls for God!