'Extraordinary' student could be first Gen Z saint

The father of a Manchester student who is being considered by the Catholic Church as a future saint has said he lived an "ordinary life in an extraordinary way."

Manchester-born Pedro Ballester, died aged 21 on 13 January, 2018 after an aggressive cancer had halted his studies to be a chemical engineer.

His Spanish-born father, also named Pedro, said: "Only the Pope says who is a saint but my son was an extraordinary young man."

Jack Valero of Catholic organisation Opus Dei, which is promoting the sainthood push, said: "Devotion to Pedro has spread throughout the world and we receive reports from people of different ages and countries who find Pedro very inspiring for their Christian lives."

More than 60 friends, family and acquaintances have been interviewed by church authorities seeking to ascertain whether Pedro achieved what the Catholic Church terms a life of "heroic virtue": living a living a life of faith, hope and love surpassing ordinary human capabilities.

His father, who is a surgeon working in Huddersfield, said: "I was interviewed for three hours and was asked all kinds of questions."

He added: "He was very caring, very loving, and very constant. I mean, you can be a good guy on a Monday. or a Tuesday. But every day and day and night, that's very hard. And that's what he did, even when he had cancer."

Pedro, who was one of three brothers, even met the late Pope Francis thanks to a charity helping young people with cancer to fulfill their dreams.

Typically he got fellow patients of all faiths and none at the Christie cancer hospital to sign a card for the pope - and the boy who made friends wherever he went struck an immediate rapport with the pontiff.

His father recalled: "Pedro took that card to the Pope and then he told him I just wanted to let you know that I got cancer, and I offer all the sufferings for you and for the Church.

"And then the Pope said something, but I don't remember the words, because I remember just the Pope's gaze, you know, the love that he had for Pedro and it was beautiful," Ballester said

His family were stunned when more than 500 people attended his 2018 funeral at the vast church of the Holy Name in Manchester. The mourners included the future Cardinal Arthur Roche, who flew over from the Vatican.

The student, who could become the Catholic Church's first Gen Z saint, was buried in Southern Cemetery Manchester, where other famous Catholics such as former Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby and music mogul Tony Wilson are buried.

His father said his grave was already attracting "pilgrims".

Opus Dei was founded in 1928 by a 26-year-old Spanish priest Josemaría Escrivá, whose vision was to extend the Sunday religiosity into everyday life.

Prominent members have included former Celtic and Scotland footballer the late Tommy Burns, ex-Labour cabinet minister Ruth Kelly and Dr Joaquín Navarro-Valls, who was Pope John Paul II's press officer.

Opus Dei hopes Pedro will follow the first two saints canonised by Pope Leo XIV, who were both young Italians: St Carlo Acutis, the teenage web producer, and St Pio Georgio Frascati, who shunned a journalistic career to serve the poor of Milan.

The organisation's Valero said devotees of Pedro saw him as a close friend whose example and prayers in helped them.

He added: "We see in the Church more and more young people like St Carlo Acutis and Pedro who can help people of their generation find God and happiness in their lives."

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