THE FIFTIES # 669: NORMA BLANCAFLOR, ELVIRA REYES, CAROL VARGA, FERNANDO ROYO, BEN RUBIO, JUAN MONTEIRO AND JENNINGS STURGEON IN "KALBARYO NI HESUS" (1952)/UPDATED

I grew up watching Kalbaryo ni Hesus in the 60s. I've seen it countless times and I still recalled Fernando Royo playing the role of Judas, Norma Blancaflor as the Blessed Mother Mary, Juan 'Johnny' Monteiro as Simon Bilibit and a foreign actor named Jennings Sturgeon as Jesus Christ. The movie, released in 1952, was an all-star cast that included among others, Carol Varga, Rita Rivera, Elvira Reyes, Ben Rubio, Teddy Benavides, Ramon D' Salva. The production design was done by National Artist Carlos 'Botong' Francisco and ably directed by Carlos Vander Tolosa.

"Kalbaryo ni Hesus" (1952)
Lebran Productions
Release Date March 26- April 4, 1952
Production Design Carlos V. Francisco
Music Prof. J. Esteban Anguita
In Charge of Production Carlos R. Garcia
Direction Carlos Vander Tolosa
An All-Star Cast - Norma Blancaflor, Elvira Reyes, Carol Varga, Fernando Royo, Ben Rubio, Juan (Johnny) Monteiro, Teddy Benavides, Africa dela Rosa, Lupe Velasco, Sweet Williams, Andres Centenera, Cecilio Joaquin, Ramon D' Salva, Rita Rivera, Gracita Dominguez, Fred Penalosa, Bert Olivar, Don Dano, Manuel Barbeyto, Oscar Keese, Ric Bustamante and Jennings Sturgeon (as Jesus Christ) and many others

Reissued in 1954

THE FIFTIES # 668: ROGELIO DE LA ROSA, LILIA DIZON, ROSA ROSAL, ALFONSO CARVAJAL IN "DIMAS: THE SAINTED ROBBER" (1952): KOMIKS SERIAL AND MOVIE ADAPTATION/ UPDATED

Dimas: The Sainted Robber was adapted from a serialized Liwayway novel by Caravana, del Mundo and Laudico and starred Rogelio dela Rosa in the title role. It is the story of Dimas who vows vengeance when his father was imprisoned and killed by Centurion Magnus.

"Dimas: The Sainted Robber" (1952)
LVN Pictures
Release Date January 11- 20, 1952/ Dalisay
Serialized in Liwayway
Story Nemesio E. Caravana and Clodualdo del Mundo
Direction Nemesio E. Caravana
Cast Rogelio dela Rosa, Lilia Dizon, Rosa Rosal, Alfonso Carvajal/ Also Starring Nestor de Villa, Jose Corazon de Jesus

Rogelio dela Rosa, Lilia Dizon and Jose Vergara in a scene from the movie, "Dimas."

Liwayway Magazine/ 1951

---to read, click images to enlarge---

From the private collection of Steve Santos
(Unang Labas Blog)

THE SEVENTIES # 434: DANTE RIVERO, HILDA KORONEL, WITH ALICIA ALONZO, MATIMTIMAN CRUZ, BOY ALANO AND EDWIN O'HARA IN CELSO AD CASTILLO'S "ANG GANGSTER AT ANG BIRHEN" (1971)/ KOMIKS SERIAL AND MOVIE ADAPTATION/ Re-posted

Another for the Lenten season--- A 1971 komiks serial, Ang Gangster at ang Birhen by Ramon Marcelino. It was drawn by Mar Santana, one of our finest komiks illustrators, but an underrated one. It was serialized in Pilipino Komiks and adapted into the screen starring Dante Rivero and Hilda Koronel under Celso Ad. Castillo direction. 

"Ang Gangster at ang Birhen" (1972)
Lea Productions
Release Date February 23, 1972
Story R. R. Marcelino
Cinematography Loreto U. Isleta
Music Jose Mari Chan
Direction Celso Ad. Castillo
Cast Dante Rivero, Hilda Koronel/ Also Starring Alicia Alonzo, Matimtiman Cruz, Boy Alano, and Edwin O'Hara/ Co-starring Nello Nayo, Mario Escudero, Jose Garcia, Fred param, Pedro Faustino, Lt. Ernesto Rivera, SOS Daredevils

"Ang Gangster at ang Birhen" (1972)
Nobela ni R.R. Marcelino
Guhit ni Mar Santana
Inilathala sa Pilipino Komiks

--- to read, click images to enlarge---

THE SEVENTIES # 168: AMALIA FUENTES (IN THE TITLE ROLE), EDDIE GUTIERREZ, PEPITO RODRIGUEZ, JOHNNY DELGADO AND ALVARO MUHLACH IN "SANTA TERESA DE AVILA" (1970)/ Re-posted

Filmed where it actually happened, "Santa Teresa de Avila" tells of the life of Teresa, a Spanish Carmelite nun, mystic and saint. Set in the scenic Spain, beauteous Amalia Fuentes portrayed the titular role, supported by a formidable cast composed of Eddie Gutierrez, Pepito Rodriguez, Johnny Delgado and Alvaro Muhlach.

"Santa Teresa de Avila" (1970)
AM Productions
Release Date December 2, `1970/ Dalisay
Screenplay Jose Flores Sibal
Cinematography Hermo U. Santos
Special Photo Effects Tommy Marcelino
Music Danny Holmsen
Direction Ben Feleo
Cast Amalia Fuentes, Eddie Gutierrez, Pepito Rodriguez, Johnny Delgado and Alvaro Muhlach/ Also Starring Imelda Ilanan, Eva Darren, and Tita Munoz/ Co-starring Johnny Monteiro, Norma Blancaflor, Leonelle Cavestani, Mary Walter, Venchito Galvez, Patria Plata, Karina Zawalski, Dorothy Joy, Laila Villahermosa and Paquito Salcedo

St. Teresa of Avila

Born in Avila, Spain, on March 28, 1515, St. Teresa was the daughter of a Toledo merchant and his second wife, who died when Teresa was 15, one of ten children. Shortly after this event, Teresa was entrusted to the care of the Augustinian nuns. After reading the letters of St. Jerome, Teresa resolved to enter a religious life. In 1535, she joined the Carmelite Order. She spent a number of relatively average years in the convent, punctuated by a severe illness that left her legs paralyzed for three years, but then experienced a vision of "the sorely wounded Christ" that changed her life forever.

From this point forward, Teresa moved into a period of increasingly ecstatic experiences in which she came to focus more and more sharply on Christ's passion. With these visions as her impetus, she set herself to the reformation of her order, beginning with her attempt to master herself and her adherence to the rule. Gathering a group of supporters, Teresa endeavored to create a more primitive type of Carmelite. From 1560 until her death, Teresa struggled to establish and broaden the movement of Discalced or shoeless Carmelites. During the mid-1560s, she wrote the Way of Perfection and the Meditations on the Canticle. In 1567, she met St. John of the Cross, who she enlisted to extend her reform into the male side of the Carmelite Order. Teresa died in 1582.

St. Teresa left to posterity many new convents, which she continued founding up to the year of her death. She also left a significant legacy of writings, which represent important benchmarks in the history of Christian mysticism. These works include the Way of Perfection and the Interior Castle. She also left an autobiography, the Life of Teresa of Avila.

The Catholic Encyclopedia includes a lengthy article on St. Teresa of Avila. Another article is available from the Teresian Carmel in Austria.

Source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library

THE SIXTIES # 26: AN ALL-STAR CAST, 5 STORIES IN "LIMANG MISTERYO NG KRUS" (1960)/ Re-posted

"Bawa't buhay ng tao'y may krus ng pagpapakasakit. At sa bawa't pagtitiis ay lalo siyang nalalapit sa kaniyang Lumikha."--- goes the blurb in the 1960 movie, "Limang Misteryo ng Krus." Helmed by director Octavio Silos, the movie consisted of five stories---

1st Story- "Dalangin sa Halamanan" - Stars Paraluman and Van de Leon

2nd Story- "Hampas sa Haliging-Bato" - Stars Daisy Romualdez, Tony Marzan, Greg Martin

3rd Story- "Koronang Tinik"- Stars Mario Montenegro and Rita Gomez

4th Story- "Pasang Krus"- Stars Carmen Rosales, Oscar Moreno, Barbara Perez, Tito Galla

5th Story- "Pagpako sa Krus"- Stars Lolita Rodriguez and Luis Gonzales

THE FIFTIES # 590: OSCAR KEESE, BERT OLIVAR, PIANING VIDAL AND DANILO JURADO IN THE TITLE ROLE OF "MARCELINO" (1959)/ Re-updated

The year: 1959---
It was seven in the morning and the office of Champion Pictures was still closed. Outside the door, five-year old Danilo Jurado fidgeted by his father’s side and wondered whether they were doing the right thing. They were there to see what chances Danny had in getting chosen for the title role in Marcelino, Champion’s Lenten picture currently under production.

Roy Padilla, Champion boss and director of the picture which needed a lead star, received father and son. He interviewed Danilo, paying special attention to the child’s facial expressions. The interview over, Roy asked for a picture of the boy which was filed for reference.

Other applicants were interviewed. Yet, as the field of selection grew wider, Roy felt more certain that only Danny, the first applicant by the way, could play the role. No other candidate for the role possessed Danilo’s assets: a delicate complexion, a chiseled nose, big soulful eyes and curly locks which strayed at the forehead. After a few days, Roy declared the search ended and he called for Danilo. The boy was signed up for three years and production of the picture, already long delayed, commenced immediately.

For the studio, the discovery of Danny Jurado meant only one thing, a child for the lead role in Marcelino had been chosen and they could finish the picture in time for the Lenten season. For the boy and his family, however, it meant much more. It was a job, a good-paying job, and a better future. No more pounding of pavements, no more missed meals, no more bruises caused by rough stones on bare feet.

Danilo was a ticket vendor before this good opportunity. So were his parents. He was a ticket vendor as soon as he could walk unaided. Danilo was, to quote the studio PRO, the monkey to his parents’ organ. It was he who enticed the buyers, who made the difference of a few more pesos added to their meager daily income. Danilo’s walking hours were spent in the alleys and sidewalks of Sta. Cruz and Quiapo, at night they would retire to the slums where they lived.

This is Danny Jurado, the boy who has been chosen for the title role in Marcelino, a touching story of a child’s unquestioning faith in his God.

Source: "Big Break for a Boy" by L. de Paz/
Literary Song-Movie magazine/
March 16, 1959

"Marcelino" (1959)
A Tagalog Adaptation of the Spanish legend Marcelino Pan Y Vino
Champion Pictures
Release Date March 25-31, 1959/ Center
Screenplay Consuelo P. Osorio
Music Restie Umali
Direction Roy Padilla
Cast Oscar Keese, Bert Olivar, Raul Belmonte, Pianing Vidal, Andres Iturbi, Andres Benitez, Arsenio Almonte, Carlos Asensi and Danilo Jurado as Marcelino

THE FIFTIES # 210: DANILO MONTES, ROSITA NOBLE AND PEDRO FAUSTINO IN "AGUA BENDITA (A RELIGIOUS OFFERING)" (1954)/ Re-posted

Not to be confused with the top rating 2010 ABS-CBN TV soap... Did you know that there was a movie made titled Agua Bendita? It was released and shown in 1954. Surprisingly, veteran character actor Pedro Faustino was in the lead role, his name above the title. Faustino was a familiar figure in many photoplays playing nominal characters as a priest, peasant or farmer, father or grandfather of lead stars.

"Agua Bendita (A Religious Offering)" (1954)
FDR Productions
Release Date June 13- 22, 1954/ Center
Direction Paquito Bolero
Cast Danilo Montes, Rosita Noble, Ludy Carmona, Roberto Rosales and Pedro Faustino/ with Engracio Ibarra, Estrella Noche, Vilma Herrera, Manuel Barbeyto, Antonio dela Mogueis and the comedy team of Berto and Tibo/ Introducing Lolita Bituin, Danny Roxas

DELIA RAZON AND MARIO MONTENEGRO IN "BANAL O MAKASALANAN ?" (1955)

"Banal O Makasalanan?" (1955) Stars Delia Razon, Mario Montenegro, Jose Cordova, Jose Vergara, Arturo Moran, Vicenta Advincula, Candida Balderama, Emelita Gitierrez and Jose Corazon de Jesus/ Directed by Susana C. de Guzman

For more of the movie, see link: http://video48.blogspot.com/2010/03/banal-o-makasalanan-1955-film-by-susana.html

TWO BY BROCKA: "ANO ANG KULAY NG MUKHA NG DIYOS" (1985) AND "MAKIUSAP KA SA DIYOS" (1991)

Two relatively underrated Brocka movies merited re-viewing this Holy Week--- "Ano Kulay ang Mukha ng Diyos?" and "Makiusap Ka sa Diyos." Because of its religious undertones and inspiring stories, it is worth a second look.

Synopsis--- Fidel Alipio (Michael de Mesa) collects tong from passing jeepneys for the traffic cops. He is in love with Lani (Gina Alajar), a bar girl.

married but their honeymoon is cut short when they run out of funds. Much to his objections, Lani returns to the bar. One of her steady customers is Mr. Perez (Subas Herrero), whom he suspects to be her lover. One night after a misunderstanding, he accidentally shoots him dead. He is sentenced to die in the electric chair.

Lani finds herself pregnant. She tells Fidel but he refuses to believe it is his child. The baby is born and is christened Maripi (Katrin Gonzales). She suffers from complications and becomes blind. Lani has to fend for the two of them. She becomes a street walker. While she is away, Maripi is cared for by Celing (Caridad Sanchez), an aging, former bar girl who runs a sari-sari store and has no family. Lani and Maripi live in her house but are not charged rent.

One night, Lani is picked up by the police for vagrancy. Rudy Velez (Edu Manzano), a news reporter, convinces the superintendent to release her. He drives her home and meets Maripi. He tries to convince her to turn a new leaf. Lani listens to Rudy and applies for a job in a department store. She gets accepted as a shop girl and is in charge of the perfumery section. However, the store manager, who knows her to be a former hooker, eyes her lasciviously.

One night, while Lani and Rudy are away, thieves break into the store. Celing wakes up and is stabbed by the assailants. Maripi cries for help. There is now no one to care for her blind child. Lani brings her to her place of work. The store manager castigates her for doing so, in contravention of the rules. Lani becomes angry and sweeps the perfume bottles off the counter. She is slapped a bill for the broken bottles; she has no money to pay for them. She asks for reconsideration; he insinuates a sexual favor.

Lani is as cynical as ever. She goes back to street walking. Maripi is left alone in the house. One day, Rudy picks her up in church as she is beseeching the Lord Almighty for favors. He brings her to an eye specialist. He is told that she could regain her eyesight if someone would donate a pair of eyes. But it has to come from someone who has just died within twenty-four hours prior to the operation and who is not sick.

Rudy decides to write an appeal for a donor in his paper. But, upon the proddings of his editor, the writeup is sensationalized. Lani is edited out of the story and Maripi is made to look like an orphan. Fidel Alipio, now a changed man, reads about it and, knowing that his end is near, offers his eyes. A meeting is set between Maripi and her donor. As it is a hot item, Rudy is told to cover it. There is surprise and glee when Fidel discovers Lani and Maripi. He is reunited with them and now accepts her as his child. The paper plays up the reconciliation. The next few days are a happy one for the family. They are together during Christmas.

Because of the extensive press coverage, Fidel is given a pardon. But a new problem erupts. Who is now going to give his eyes to Maripi? As he looks at the fireworks on New Year Eve, Fidel reflects on his life. He has wasted it and should allow others to be given the chances he has thrown away. The following day, he is found dead. An operation is rushed. Maripi has been given the gift of sight by her father.

==============================================================

Dolores Aaron’s (Ruffa Gutierrez) childhood dream has been to serve the Lord. She has entered the novitiate of the Daughters of St. Anne and is very excited as in two months time, she will be saying her final vows.

Emil Ornedo (Cris Villanueva) is a seminarian in the Order of St. John of the Cross. He is very much in love with Dolores and confesses he joined the seminary to be near her. He too will be saying his vows as a brother soon. He proposes to Dolores who turns him down. She is very determined to become a nun.

One of the duties of the nuns is to serve the community. The Daughters of St. Anne is committed to help Dr. Vince Leveriza (Christopher de Leon) in setting up a free clinic in San Lazaro. Sisters Dolores and Amanda have been assigned to help out. Dolores’ pregnant sister, Belinda (Maricel Laxa), and her husband, Alan (Gabby Concepcion), are vacationing in the area. One evening, her sister delivers a stillborn baby girl. Vince and Dolores are called to help. Belinda cries profusely and asks Dolores to intercede with God for her child’s life. Dolores cradles the baby in her arms and, as she looks at the picture of the Holy Family on the wall, the baby starts to cry. Belinda calls it a miracle, but Dolores tells her to keep mum. Dolores is more sure than ever that the nunnery is her life.

But as she is bicycling back to her order, a mysterious stranger manages to assault her and cover her nose with a piece of cloth drenched with chloroform. Upon regaining consciousness, she realizes she has been violated. She goes to a stream and washes herself pure.

Dolores confronts Emil but learns he is not the guilty party. She is distraught and feels that God has betrayed her. She continues on with her final vows. In the ceremony, she faints. She is found to be pregnant. The nuns are scandalized. Sister Carmen, the mother superior, locks her up in her room and allows no one to visit her. She talks to Sister Bernadette, the oldest of the congregation, about having the baby adopted once it is born. Sister Amanda overhears the conversation and tells Dolores. Dolores wants to keep the baby and feels she must leave. With the help of Sister Amanda, she manages to escape. It is a rainy night, and she knocks on the door of a kind woman who lives with her lame daughter, Rebecca. She delivers a baby boy whom she calls Nino.

Rebecca becomes close to her and asks, as she is a person of God, to intercede with him so that she could walk again. Dolores places her hands on her legs but they do not move. Dolores visits her mother who slaps her when she finds out. She hurriedly leaves the house when her mother calls the convent. She boards with Alan and Belinda who scoff at her religiosity. The father accepts Dolores as an unwed mother and settles her obligations with the nuns. She is now released from her vows. She searches out Emil, but to her disappointment, he has changed his mind. He now wants to become a priest.

Dolores now tries to adjust to a secular life. She learns that Alan and Belinda are at odds with each other and that Marga, their child, is not his daughter. Belinda was carrying on with a married man who left her. He married her upon their father's promise of a position in her law firm. On their wedding night, she laughed at him for being such a wimp. His illusions vanished at that very moment. One day, Marga becomes ill. Dr. Vince Leveriza is called for. He is happy to see Dolores and learns about her condition. He starts courting her and, in due time, gets her to be his wife. On their wedding night, Dolores is unsettled by the sex act. She tries to postpone it, but Vince is insistent. In his exasperation, he reveals that he is her rapist. He did it out of his contempt for the condescending, holier-than-thou attitudes of the religious. Dolores becomes hysterical.

Dolores and Vince present themselves as happily married to the eyes of their acquaintances, though she refuses to sleep with him. Out of his desperation, Vince sleeps around --- with Belinda whose husband also refuses to fulfill his marital obligations. One night, Dolores spots some plane tickets in his shirt. She disposes of them. It seems Vince had intended to leave for somewhere with their son.

It is Dolores’ birthday party. She has invited her parents and friends to a dinner. She notices a bulge in the stomach of Ursula Maniago, her servant. She forces her to reveal the name of the culprit. It is her husband. There is bedlam with the revelation and Dolores’ father confronts Vince. He suffers a heart attack and expires while punching him. Dolores now sinks deeper into morbidity and blames herself for her father’s death. Vince now sleeps openly with the maid in her quarters in the garage. In a moment of insanity, Dolores decides to burn down the adjacent structure. Vince and Ursula are burned alive, along with their son.

It is a sensational court case. Dolores is arraigned on two counts of parricide and premeditated murder. Alan, who admits being in love with Dolores, is her lawyer. He ably defends her. She is acquitted of the charges but is committed to an insane asylum.

Time passes. Dolores wears her novice habit and tries to adjust to life in the asylum. She is visited by friends, among them Rebecca and her mother. Rebecca asks her again to cure her of her lameness. She places her hands on her numb legs and they start to move. It is a miracle. Dolores regains her trust in God.

Source: Lino Brocka: The Artist and His Times

MORE ON "PINOY RELIGIOUS MOVIES" REVISITED, PART 3

1. "Kaban ng Tipan" (X-otic Films/1939)---

"Kaban ng Tipan" (1939)

X-Otic Films
Release Date: November 16, 1939/ Metropolitan Theater
Director Jose Nepomuceno
Story Dr. Fausto J. Galauran
Cast Lucita Goyena, Reynaldo Dante, Andres Centenera, Luningning, Amanding Montes, Precioso Palma, Juanito Lazaga

2. "Agua Bendita: A Religious Offering" (FDR Productions/1953)---

Not to be confused with the top rating ABS-CBN TV soap, did you know that there was a movie made titled Agua Bendita? It was released and shown in 1953. Surprisingly, veteran character actor Pedro Faustino was in the lead role, his name above the title. Faustino was a familiar figure in many photoplays playing nominal characters as a priest, peasant or farmer, father or grandfather of lead stars.

"Agua Bendita: A Religious Offering" (1953)- Stars Danilo Montes, Rosita Noble, Ludy Carmona, Roberto Rosales and Pedro Faustino/ with Engracio Ibarra, Estrella Noche, Vilma Herrera/ Directed by Paquito Bolero

3. "Luha ng Birhen" (Sampaguita Pictures/1954)---

"Luha ng Birhen" (1954)- Stars Carmen Rosales, Van de Leon, Norma Vales and Luis Gonzales/ Directed by Octavio Silos

4. "Ang Langit sa Lupa" (Nepomuceno Productions/ 1967)---

"Ang Langit sa Lupa" (1967)- Stars Charito Solis, Ric Rodrigo, Liza Lorena, Greg Martin, Rod Navarro, Eva Darren, Norma Blancaflor, Ernesto La Guardia/ Directed by Luis Nepomuceno

5. "Hermano Pule" (VLZ Films/ 1976)---

"Hermano Pule" (1976)- Stars Boots Anson-Roa, Philip Gamboa, Alicia ALonzo, Nympha Bonifacio, Greg Lozano and Tommy Abuel in the title role/ with Perry Baltazar, Ernesto Santos/ Directed by F.V. Alfon

Hermano Pule (1815-1841) was born Apolinario de la Cruz in barrio Pandác, Lucbán, Tayabas (now Quezon), but is better known as Hermano Pule. He led the first major revolt in the Philippines, based on a struggle for religious freedom.

As an infant, Apolinario wanted to become a priest. At the age of 24 in 1839, he attempted to enter a monastic order in Manila. He was refused because he was an 'indio' (native, indigent). Frustrated, he worked in the San Juan de Dios Hospital. During his spare time, he studied the Bible and religious material and actively listened to church sermons, thus developing his knowledge in theology.

In June 1840, he founded the Cofradia de San José (Confraternity of St. Joseph) which excluded caucasians. The brotherhood fostered the practice of Christian virtues. When Spanish religious authorities heard about the organization, they immediately condemned the brotherhood as heresy. The brotherhood's number grew despite its persecution. Spanish authorities, including Governor-General Marcelino Oraa and Archbishop Jose Segui, regarded the Cofradia as a heresy and banned it. However, the more persecuted the Cofradia was the greater it grew in numbers.

Finally forced to fight for religious freedom, Pule rallied 4,000 followers at Barrio Isabang on the slope of Mount Banahaw and was able to vanquish an attack by Alcalde-mayor Juan Ortega and his 300 men on October 23, 1841. However, reinforcements came on November 1 with Colonel Joaquin Huet who not only annihilated the Cofradia forces but massacred hundres of defenseless old men, women and children who joined Pule in Alitao. Pule escaped to Barrio Ibanga but was captured the following evening, and on November 4, 1841 he was executed by a firing squad at the town of Tayabas. (Internet Source)

6. "Lorenzo Ruiz" (RJU Films/ 1988)---

"Lorenzo Ruiz" (1988)- Stars Charito Solis, Dang Cecilio, Juco Diaz, Rose Ann Gonzales, Alvin Enriquez and Mat Ranillo III in the title role/ Directed by Maria Saret

Lorenzo Ruiz is the first Filipino saint. He is also the first Filipino martyred for the Christian Faith. Lorenzo Ruiz was a layman, married, and had two sons and a daughter.

Born in Binondo, Manila, about 1600's, he was educated in the school of the Dominicans there. He served as an altar boy and later was a helper and clerk-sacristan in the church of Binondo. He was a member of the Confraternity of the Rosary. He made his living probably as a calligrapher, one who renders documents in beautiful penmanship for private or official use. To be sure, that work denoted an accomplished and educated person, especially at a time when many an illustrious personage was far from excelling in this art.

An adverse event made him leave the Philippines in 1636. When he was in his late twenties or early thirties, he became involved or was accused of being involved in a criminal case, the circumstances of which are far from clear. Whether he was involved or not, one thing was clear, he was afraid that, as a consequence of a trial or mistrial, he might be given a death sentence.

Upon landing in Japan where Christians were being persecuted, he was arrested and imprisoned together with his companions. He underwent inhuman tortures and valiantly confessed his Christian Faith. Refusing to renounce his Faith, he told his executioner that he was ready to die for God and give himself for many thousands of lives if he had them. On September 27, 1637, he was hung from a gallows by his feet, his body falling into a pit. After two days of agony, he died of bleeding and suffocation. His body was cremated and the ashes thrown into the sea.

He and fifteen companions, martyred in the same persecution, were beatified by Pope John Paul II in Manila on February 18, 1981 and elevated to full honors of the altar by canonization on October 18, 1987 in Rome. Their feast day is on September 28th.

Source: www.catholic.org

7. "Nakausap Ko ang Birhen" (Regal Films/ 1988)---

"Nakausap Ko ang Birhen" (1988)- Stars Lotlot de Leon, Ramon Christopher, Eddie Garcia, Janice de Belen and Snooky Serna/ with barbara Perez, Sarsi Emmanuelle, Marissa Delgado, Subas Herrero, Bella Flores, Ramil Rodriguez, Alicia Alonzo, Nanding Fernandez, Vangie Labalan/Directed by Mike Relon Makiling

8. "Divine Grace sa Buhay ni Sister Faustina" (Cine Suerte/ 1993)---

"Divine Mercy sa Buhay ni Sister Faustina" (1993)- Stars Donita Rose, Christopher de Leon, Liza Lorena, Paquito Diaz, Dexter Doria, Maila Gumila and Alicia Alonzo / Directed by Ben Yalung


---click image to enlarge---

9. "Kristo" (Cine Suerte/ 1996)---

"Kristo" (1996)- Stars Mat Ranillo III, Gabby Concepcion, Ricky Davao, Aga Muhlach, Amy Austria, Lorna Tolentino, Rudy Fernandez and Christopher de Leon/ Directed by Ben Yalung


---click image to enlarge---

10. "Birhen ng Manaog" (Regal Films/ 2005)---

"Birhen ng Manaog" (2005)- Stars Jodi Sta. Maria, Eddie Garcia, Joyce Jimenez, Albert Martinez, Cherry Pie Picache, Jean Garcia, Bianca King, Ina Feleo, Alicia Alonzo / Directed by Ben Yalung

---click image to enlarge---