THE DIOCESE of Cubao formally opened the cause for sainthood of a Filipino youth last Aug. 28 at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Quezon City.
The petition for Darwin Ramos began in France. It was also requested by the Darwin Ramos Association in the Diocese of Cubao. Two biographies were written in French.
Ramos was 17 years old when he died of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a genetic disorder characterized by the absence of protein that supports the muscles.
He lived in the slums of Quezon City and worked as a scavenger to support their financial needs. When his disorder affected his mobility, he became a beggar.
In 2002, the Tulay ng Kabataan Foundation, a non-government organization that helps street children, took him in their care. He was baptized in 2006 and had his first communion the following year.
Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco said Ramos showed that love for Christ knows no age.
“What makes Darwin Ramos young is not only his age but also the trusted relationship he had with Christ even amidst the suffering. He is young and will always be young because he has followed the footstep of Christ who is young among the young,” Ongtioco said in his homily.
Fr. Thomas de Gabory, O.P., the postulator of the cause, said Christ’s joy in suffering could also be seen through Ramos.
“Darwin will be remembered as someone who is always in joy…a deep joy of Jesus especially of the suffering Christ,” Gabory said in an interview with the Varsitarian. “[That’s why] he’s described as the “Filipino master of Joy.”
“Darwin is famous because he has a certain holiness that is not common to the youth of the Philippines [and he already acquired] the reputation of sanctity, a theological element needed for sainthood,” Gabory said in a press conference.
