Roman Catholics commemorate Thursday, May 6, the feast day of Saint Dominic (San Domingo) Savio, the revered patron saint of teenagers and choirboys.
A fiesta mass will be livestreamed online at 6 p.m. by the St. Dominic Savio Parish on Pag-Asa Street, Mandaluyong City. The Holy Mass will be officiated by guest priest Rev. Fr. Armand Robleza. Only about 100 persons will be allowed inside the church.
On Saturday, May 8, the parish will lead a motorcade around the area bearing the image of their revered patron saint at 4 p.m.
Born on April 2,1842 in Italy, St. Dominic was the youngest non-martyr to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. He was an exceptionally holy child having memorized all his prayers by heart at the age of 4. He served as an altar boy at the age of five.
When he was 12 years old, he entered a school run by St. John Bosco, who later wrote his biography, “The Life of Dominic Savio.” He was studying to be a priest when he died of pleurisy at the young age of 14 on March 9, 1857.
St. Pius XI said, “A teenager such as Dominic, who bravely struggled to keep his innocence from baptism to the end of his life, is really a saint. He was small-in-size but towering in spirit.”
St. Dominic was canonized on June 12, 1954 by Pope Pius XII. His major shrine is the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin, Italy where he was buried.