Dormitium de San Pedro

With one Latin and two  Spanish words  the title of this column means, “Sleeping Place of San Pedro”. To avoid misunderstanding, the titles does not refer to the body, bones and ashes of San Pedro. It only means that the place is owned by the San Pedro Cathedral Parish.

I use the Latin word Dormitium to recall that the place where the Blessed Virgin SLEPT before she was taken up to heaven was called DORMITIUM. “Sleep” is often used in the Bible in reference to the dead. St. Paul in Corinthians 15:20 says, “But the truth is that Christ has been raised from the dead, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised”.

Our DORMITIUM refers to the spacious  air-conditioned and cozy sleeping place for the dead underneath San Pedro Cathedral. It is conducive to prayer and meditation. The floor is tiled white and the walls also tiled but greenish white. On the walls and on both sides of the partitions are COLUMBARIUMs, the Latin word for pigeon holes measuring 16-inches square diameter. “Columba” in Latin is pigeon, and pigeons rest in what are called pigeon holes, also called urns. There are more than a thousand Columbarium in this Dormitium. Each can easily accommodate bones beloning to one person, and 3 vessels of ashes belonging to 3 different individuals. Because of the bones here the pigeon holes can also be called OSSORIUM, a place for bones, OSSA in Latin. The architect of this beautiful place is Lumen Quinto, Jr.

More than 50 columbariums have already been assigned to different individual families and persons. There is a contract that regulates the assignment which includes a monetary donation to help pay for the construction of the Dormitium. The donation also pays for the maintenance of the columbarium in perpetuum. Anyone who wants to transfer the remains of their loved ones from the cemetery or memorial park to this Dormitium is directed to see Msgr. Leonardo Vicente, parish administrator and rector of the cathedral.

To underline the truth that the dead “sleep in Christ”, our attention is called to the nearness of the columbarium to the permanent Presence of Jesus in the Tabernacle above it and in the Holy Masses celebrated daily on the altar just above the columbarium. And every month a special

Mass is celebrated on the altar in the dormitium underneath for all the sleeping dead. They sleep here in peace together with the late Archbishop Clovis Thibault, Bishop Alfredo Baquial and Archbishop Antonio Mabutas.

The Church prays to the Resurrected Lord in every Mass celebrated daily in the Cathedral asking the Lord that our brothers and sisters who sleep in peace in the Dormitium may in God’s own time be raised to life again and awaken to glory because the Lord Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.