Robert Canton, a Cebuano, now residing in Stockton, was recently invited to speak during the Golden Jubilee Celebrations to be held in the Vatican from May 31- June 4, 2017. The celebrations will culminate with the Pentecost Mass with Pope Francis on Pentecost Sunday, June 4 in St. Peter’s Square.
The letter to Canton jointly signed by Oreste Pesare of the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (ICCRS) and Angela Fatima de Monteiro of the Catholic Fraternities (CF), both Golden Jubilee Team Directors, states, “We really consider you among the special protagonists of the history of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. Without your ‘yes’ and your services, the ICCRS and the CF would not be as they are today. In this regard, the Jubilee Executive Committee is pleased to invite you to be a speaker of this very important and historic worldwide gathering of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.” Canton is also slated to conduct two workshops and to serve as a panelist in a symposium.
During his Pentecost Mass in 2016, Pope Francis issued an invitation to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal worldwide to celebrate the Golden Jubilee in the Vatican. “We will gather here in St. Peter’s Square on Pentecost 2017 to give thanks to the Holy Spirit of this current of grace for the Church and for the world,” according to the pontiff. His Holiness then asked the ICCRS and the CF to plan and spearhead the Golden Jubilee celebrations. Both of these organizations are Vatican-based and have Pontifical Rights with the Pontifical Council of the Laity.
Canton is a council member of ICCRS, representing the English-speaking North and Central America as well as the Caribbean countries. He is one of the 14 Council members who represent ICCRS to all the continents in the world. He represents approximately 16 million Roman Catholic Charismatics in the region who are active in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, a movement within the Roman Catholic Church which emphasizes the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as a way to enhance their faith. This Ecclesial Movement has been enthusiastically endorsed and supported by Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. The ICCRS Council meets at least once a year in the Vatican for a weeklong meeting.
According to ICCRS estimates, there are over 130 million Roman Catholics who received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in 230 countries. The Golden Jubilee Celebration Committee hopes to attract between 150,000 to 200,000 faithfuls to this worldwide event.
Canton was first elected in 2007, and has served in the Finance and Newsletter and Special Fund Committees. In September 2010, he facilitated the first North American ICCRS-sponsored International Leadership Training Course which was held at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. He was one of the few invited to attend the Vatican-sponsored Colloquium on the Charisms of The Holy Spirit in 2008 and the Colloquium on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in 2011. Canton has also traveled to many countries as an ICCRS speaker to conduct Workshops, teachings and Healing Rallies at International Catholic Charismatic Conferences. He is also one of the 25 invited worldwide who participated in the Colloquium on Deliverance and Exorcism that was held in the Vatican in April 2014. Canton, who is very active in the preaching, teaching, and healing ministry, has so far ministered in 51 countries all over the world since 1996. He just recently conducted a Healing Crusade in Japan. He had the privilege to meet privately with Pope Benedict XVI, now Pope Emeritus, in 2011 and Pope Francis in 2014. Aside from his duties as ICCRS Council member, Canton is the head servant leader of the Children of God Prayer Community of St. Luke’s Parish in Stockton and the National Coordinator of the Alliance of Filipino Catholic Charismatic Prayer Communities in North America, an umbrella organization which is composed of over 5,000 Filipino and part Filipino prayer groups and prayer communities in North America. He is a member of the Association of Christian Therapists and the Filipino Pastoral Council in the Diocese of Stockton. His ministry has been endorsed by Bishop Stephen Blaire of the Diocese of Stockton and by Bishop Oscar Solis of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In 2015, he wrote a book entitled, Miracles Never Ending, which is in demand among Catholic circles. It is available through amazon.com and in St. Paul’s Religious Bookstores in the Philippines.
Canton was born and raised in Cebu City. He came to reside in the United States in 1973 after obtaining his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of San Carlos in Cebu City in 1972. He took an early retirement from his job as Senior Auditor-Appraiser from the State of California in 2008 to devote full time on his ministry. He is married to the former Chita Romero from Pangasinan, a Registered Nurse. They have two daughters, a practicing Dentist and a Psychologist.
