Archdiocese continues efforts to make San Vitores a saint

The push to canonize the Spanish Jesuit missionary Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores, martyr of the Catholic church, will continue as the Archidiocese of Agana plans to promote greater awareness, prayer, and devotion.

“As we continue towards canonization, one of the most important things that must be demonstrated and documented is a genuine, active, and widespread devotion to Blessed Diego among the faithful, together with Church’s required canonical process,” the archdiocese said in a statement Thursday. “For this reason, devotion to Blessed Diego is not simply encouraged; it is an essential part of this effort.”

San Vitores and his Filipino assistant Saint Pedro Calungsod were killed on April 2, 1672, by Chief Matapang and another villager named Hirao, according to the Catholic church, marking one of the most pivotal moments in Guam’s religious history.

Archbishop Ryan Jimenez appointed Rev. Fr. Junee Valecia, parochial administrator of the Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Church in Tumon, to lead the movement for San Vitores.

The Catholic church said a committee was formed to help foster “renewed devotion” to San Vitores and provide opportunities for the faithful to learn more about his story.

On Sept. 1, artifacts related to San Vitores’s killing were brought to the San Vitores Church including his cassock, paintings, and the machete believed to have killed him.

In the next few months, the archdiocese will launch educational and devotional initiatives.

The hope is that through continued outreach, San Vitores’s memory and intercession will become more present in the faithful on Guam.

“God willing, Blessed Diego Church may one day be designated as an official shrine through the proper process with the Holy See,” the archdiocese wrote.