Stained Glass Tour
  - Joseph the Patriarch
  - St. Therese of Liseux
  - St. Claire of Assisi
  - St. Francis of Assisi
  - St. Paul of Tarsus
  - Bl. Pedro Calungsod
  - St. Maria Goretti
  - Bl. Miguel Pro
  - St. Maximilian Kolbe
  - St. Gianna Molla
  - Bl. Teresa of Calcutta
  - Ven. John Paul II, Pope
  - St. John Vianney
  - Christ the King with St. Michael
the Archangel
 - Ven. Fr. Michael McGivney

The stained glass in the main section of St. Joseph's Church that is featured in this section was designed and created by parishioner Mary Mullins and all images are subject to copyright, 2007-2010, Valley Rose Designer Glass.  Descriptive text copyright Mary Mullins, 2007-2010.
You may contact them by calling (209) 238-3236.

(1655-1672)   

Pedro Calungsod was only 17 years old when he was martyred.   He was beatified on March 5, 2000 by Pope John Paul II at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.  The investigation proved a miraculous cure of bone cancer through Blessed Pedro’s intercession.

Pedro, who was named after St. Peter the Apostle, was born in the Visayas, Philippines and received his education from the Spanish Jesuits, learning many skills including reading, writing, carpentry, music, art and language. He was fluent in Visayan, Spanish and Chamorro.  He was a gifted lay catechist and sacristan with a reputation for being both cheerful and valiant.  

In those days it was not uncommon for the Jesuits to bring young catechists with them on their missionary journeys.  In 1668, at the age of 13, Pedro began the first of several journeys with Blessed Fr. Diego Luis de San Vitores, the Superior of the Mission, to bring the Gospel to the Chamorro people in the Ladrones/Marianas Islands in the western Pacific.   
They faced many difficulties; the islands had steep terrain, dense jungles and were in the direct path of many tropical typhoons. Added to this, the Chamorro people were also known to have a violent nature.  But Fr. Diego and his missionaries wished to follow Our Lord faithfully and so never armed themselves with weapons of any kind. Instead, they brought the Gospel and the Sacraments. Their kindness towards the Chamorro and their teachings about Jesus won many converts.

The increasing conversions and the natives’ growing affection for the missionaries sparked a deep hatred in the heart of a Chinese medicine man named Choco. Joined by the local Macanjas (sorcerers) and Urritaos (young male prostitutes), Choco embarked upon a campaign to discredit and eventually kill the Spanish and Filipino missionaries.  He began spreading lies particularly that the Holy Water poured over the children during Baptism was poisonous and caused the deaths of some of the sickly children and babies.  

April 2, 1672 was the Saturday before Palm Sunday. Around 7am, Pedro and Fr. Diego arrived at the village of Tumon on the island of Guam. A baby girl had been recently born in the village and the child’s Catholic mother requested Baptism. However, the baby’s father, Matapang, once a Christian now rejected the faith.  He grew enraged when Fr. Diego arrived for the baptism. In his anger, he decided to kill Fr. Diego and Pedro and left his hut to find his friend Hirao to help him in the attack. Hirao, while not a Christian, remembered the kindness of the missionaries and initially refused Matapang’s demands.  When Matapang called him a coward, Hirao’s temper got the better of him and together they set off for the village armed with spears and machetes.

Unaware of Matapang’s plans and endeavoring to calm the situation, Fr. Diego and Pedro gathered the children and adults of the village for singing and catechesis. In Matapang’s absence, Fr. Diego honored the mother’s request and baptized the baby girl. When Matapang and Hirao returned to the village and learned of the baptism, they attacked, hurling spears and hitting Pedro and knocking him to the ground. Those who knew him said he could have easily defeated the two men but Pedro, following in the footsteps of Jesus, did not fight back or run away. He died protecting Fr. Diego and the children and villagers in his care. Both Fr. Diego and Pedro were killed; their bodies mutilated and thrown into the sea.

In this window…

Blessed Pedro stands with his right hand on the shoulder of a young Chamorro boy who has just been baptized. The boy holds his Baptismal candle and wears a lei of bright flowers in celebration of his special day. In his left hand, Blessed Pedro holds the Holy Bible and the Rosary.  The palm branch tucked in the Bible commemorates his death the day before Palm Sunday. He is pictured in a tropical landscape with the sea behind him and Bird of Paradise flowers beside him.  

Blessed Pedro and the boy are shown by a pool of water. On the rocks beside the pool are the priest’s stole, a shell to pour Holy Water over the heads of those being baptized and the holy oil used in Baptismal anointing.