Diocesan probe on Mindanao's candidate to sainthood ends, Roman phase next

The diocese of Dipolog will submit to the Vatican, documents related to the life of service of Fr. Francesco Palliola, a candidate for sainthood who spent many years in Mindanao, according to a post on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website.

The move is part of the first few steps of the cause of sainthood for the Jesuit priest.

The investigation that start in January 2016 was concluded by Bishop Severo Caermare in time for the Golden Jubilee of the diocese of Dipolog on Thursday, Sept. 14.

Over a thousand devotees attended the ceremony held at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral in Dipolog City.

The people were hopeful that the country will have its third saint, after Saints Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungsod, and the first one from Mindanao.

Palliola, a Jesuit priest, was born into a noble family in the town of Nola in Naples, Italy on May 10, 1612.

He was part of a 40-man Jesuit expedition to the Philippines.

He landed in Iligan on Jan. 2, 1644 where he began his missionary work that brought him to Dipolog and the rest of the Zamboanga Peninsula.

Palliola was martyred at Ponot, which is now known as Jose Dalman town, on January 29, 1648.

His memory, however, lives on in the area and this has been passed on through generations primarily by oral tradition, particularly among the Subanen – Christian and non-Christian alike.

The Diocesan Postulator, Fr. Patrick Dalangin, said they are submitting the documents to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints of the Vatican next month.

“We have to pray,” Dalangin said. “We are so positive that we do this faithfully for the good of the Church.”

“Let us remain hopeful that the Pope will have an affirmative response to this effort of the local church of Dipolog that Fr. Palliola will become saint,” he added. — BAP, GMA News