One Filipino teen is one step closer to becoming the next Catholic saint after the Vatican declared him a “Servant of God” last March 29.
Source: Diocese of Cubao
Darwin Ramos, who spent most of his teenhood helping street children with non-government organization Tulay ng Kabataan while suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, was bestowed the title by the Vatican for being “an example of holiness.”
“The Vatican has given us the go-signal to go deeper in his life, how he lived his faith and how he gave witness to Jesus to whom he was very close,” Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao said in a statement on the CBCP news site last Friday, May 31.
After being named “Servant of God,” Ramos can now become a “venerable” after church officials determine that he has indeed lived a devout Catholic life. He can then be beatified when a miracle happens to his intercession. Finally, he can be canonized as a saint after a second miracle takes place.
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Ramos, born in 1994, has kept his faith despite his illness which bound him to a wheelchair. He spent his childhood living in the slums of Pasay City as a scavenger. At age 12, he began to work as a volunteer for Tulay ng Kabataan. He died in 2012 at the age of 17.
“Darwin is an example of holiness. Being a street child, afflicted with myopathy, he is closely united with Christ in his suffering and joy,” Bishop Ongtioco added.
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