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Pope Francis headed home Monday from the Philippines after a weeklong trip that also took him to Sri Lanka. Here are some glimpses of his last two days: Flying home Francis left Manila about 10:12 a.m. on a Philippines Airlines jet, heading back to the Vatican after his second Asia tour since becoming pope. He stopped at the top of the steps to the plane, turned to give one more wave to the crowd and then bowed before boarding. A large contingent of former street children, wearing matching T-shirts, kept chanting “Pope Francis, we love you,” and waving, long after the plane door was closed. Final motorcade Thousands of cheering people lined the streets of Manila one more time to try to see Francis as his motorcade traveled to Villamor Air Base for his flight. Standing in the bed of a white converted pickup truck, the pope waved to the crowd as his vehicle moved fairly rapidly through the cleared streets on a sunny morning. He is to leave after a brief departure ceremony at the air base. Soaked but happy It was a wet day. And it was worth it. A record 6 million people turned out for Pope Francis’ outdoor Mass in Manila’s Rizal Park on Sunday, including those who lined the streets for his motorcade to the site, a city official said. It was the culminating event of his weeklong trip to Asia. “Our wait and getting soaked in the rain was all worth it because we Read More …

Though it was an abbreviated Leyte trip for Pope Francis, it was also full of new experiences for the 78-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church. Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said on Saturday that it was the first time the Pope experienced a tropical storm and celebrated a Mass wearing a poncho. “I have experienced occasional rain but this type? No, no, no,” Pope Francis told the Filipino cardinal. When Tagle asked the pontiff if he had celebrated Mass in a raincoat, the pope said, “No, this is the first time!” Despite the Signal No. 2 warning over Leyte due to Tropical Storm Amang, Pope Francis pushed through with the open-vehicle motorcade from Tacloban Airport to Palo—a 12-kilometer ride—leaving him exposed to the cold, rain, and wind.  Tagle said that there were suggestions the Pope travel in a closed vehicle. But, Pope Francis would not hear of it. “Ah, no no no! This is the reason why I am here. I am here to show solidarity. If people had waited and sacrificed under the heat of the sun or cold of the rain, then why should the pastor not be with them,” said the Pope according to Tagle. Meanwhile, Vatican Press Office director Father Federico Lombardi said that the Pope has been informed of the death of a 21-year-old woman, who was killed after scaffolding fell on her after the papal Mass. The pope is looking at different ways to offer help to the victim and her family, Read More …

Pilgrims can expect zero mobile phone signals Sunday at the Luneta when millions of people gather for the Catholic mass Pope Francis will preside over. A security advisory of the Bureau of Immigration posted on Facebook for its security personnel indicated that there “will be no cell sites signal” at the Luneta Sunday Mass with the pope. The BI advisory was posted Saturday afternoon. Most mobile phone though are useful not just for sending and receiving calls and texts, so it is unclear why the BI security personnel where told not to bring their cellphones just because there will be no mobile signals. The official Papal Visit website has an advisory from the Department of Health which reminds pilgrims to bring with them some necessities for their security, safety and personal health. Among the necessities are flashlights, sanitary napkins, wet wipes, hand sanitizers, drinking water, raincoats, hand towels, paper bags and food that does not quickly spoil. In a televised address, President Benigno Aquino III urged pilgrims going to the papal events to exercise discipline and help authorities secure both the pope and people who come to see him. Aquino tasked Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas to coordinate security measures. The Philippine National Police is attached to the DILG. Roxas said the Luneta “will be divided into grids” which will double as buffers and emergency exits. “Eto yung tinatawag na breaker para kung magkatulakan may pupuntahan ang mga tao (this is what you call breaker so that people Read More …

Pope Francis on Saturday pushed for political and economic policies that will benefit the poor in the Philippines, calling on those responsible for society to renew their commitment to making life better for the less fortunate. In his prepared speech for his meeting with survivors of Yolanda-hit areas in Leyte, Pope Francis called on “all responsible for the good of society, to renew your commitment to social justice and the betterment of the poor, both here and in the Philippines as a whole.” “Today, from this place which has known such profound suffering and human need, I ask that even more be done for the poor,” Pope Francis said in the speech that was meant to be delivered before survivors, particularly the poor, at the Palo Cathedral. The speech was left undelivered as Pope Francis had to leave at 1 p.m. four hours earlier than scheduled due to an oncoming tropical cyclone that made a return flight to Manila later in the afternoon too dangerous.  Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican Press Office, later said in a news briefing that the speech although undelivered at the venue could already be referenced by the public and the media. The speech was also posted on the Vatican website. “Above all, I ask that the poor throughout this country be treated fairly—that their dignity be respected, that political and economic policies be just and inclusive, that opportunities for employment and education be developed, and that obstacles to the delivery of social services be Read More …

Pope Francis returned to the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila at 2:55 p.m. Saturday, after his visit to Leyte was cut short by Tropical Storm Amang (Mekkhala). The Pope, who was aboard a black Volkswagen minivan, was greeted by cheering Filipinos waiting at the corner of Taft and Quirino Avenues. Amid the drizzle, people — young, old, and families leaving near the Nunciature — began lining up the streets as early as 12 noon or more than seven hours before Pope Francis’ expected time of arrival back in Manila from Leyte. Located at the corner of Quirino Avenue and Taft Avenue in Malate, Manila, the Nunciature serves as the embassy of the Vatican State in the Philippines. It also serves as the official residence of the Apostolic Nuncio or the Holy See’s ambassador to the country, Most Reverend Giuseppe Pinto. The late Pope Paul VI and the late Pope John Paul II, who was recently proclaimed as St. John Paul II, also stayed at the same Nunciature during their respective visits in the Philippines. For the Pope’s privacy and security, media and even government officials were not allowed inside the Nunciature. The roads surrounding it were also closed to vehicles as early as Wednesday evening. Earlier on Saturday, Pope Francis led a Mass in Tacloban City followed by a motorcade going to Palo town where had an intimate lunch with some survivors of Yolanda, the world’s strongest typhoon recorded to make a landfall.  He also blessed the mass grave of the Read More …