TACLOBAN CITY—When Leyte province remembers the fourth anniversary of Supertyphoon Haiyan (local name Yolanda) on November 8, one highlight of the day will be the unveiling of a life-size statue of a sixth-century bishop in France who later became a saint.
Saint Medard of Noyon, born a French noble, is the patron saint for protection against bad weather. His feast day is celebrated every June 8.
Leyte Vice Gov. Carlo Loreto said a proposal has been made to put submerged images of Saint Medard along the eastern coast of the province where the storm surge happened that resulted to the death of over 6,000 people on November 8, 2013.
“We hope that, with Saint Medard across the province, we can have a stronger hold of our inner self and against bad weather,”
Loreto told the BusinessMirror in an interview.
Loreto said a team of divers will arrive before the end of October to look for an ideal site to put the image of the saint.
Proposed areas for the project are the coastal towns of Palo, Tanauan, and Tolosa, among the most devastated areas of Leyte, aside from this city during the typhoon.
Saint Medard, born around 456 in Salency, became a priest in 490 and was consecrated Bishop of Vermand in 530. He is known for his piety and generosity. Legend has it that when Saint Medard was a child, he was sheltered from the rain by an eagle hovering over him.
After a year of serving as the Bishop of Vermand, he transferred the See to Noyons to be able to defend it more from the invasion of the Huns and the Vandals.
Loreto said the people of the province can easily relate to Saint Medard because of what they experienced during the aftermath of the strong typhoon.
“What we have seen during the Yolanda was when you have no food, no house, with your relatives missing and many of your friends dead, the strength of character and the strength of spirit is what remains,” he said.
He added that while many natural disasters are unavoidable, the impact of Yolanda to the people could have been lessened if they had been more caring of the environment.
“Yolanda and other catastrophes showed us that they cripple our source of livelihood. The poor are the most affected,” he said.
“We hope this will create a better awareness in protecting our environment and compassion for the poor through the installation of Saint Medard,” Loreto added.