Maniolas

Roughly an hour after he first set foot in the country, and after thousands welcomed him in the streets, Pope Francis will retire for the night at the Papal Nunciature here in Taft, Manila. Francis, whose official visit to the Philippines commenced when he landed at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City, arrived at the Nunciature at around seven in the evening, Thursday. Pope Francis travelled from Villamor Air Base, where he landed, to the nunciature in an open popemobile. Aside from serving as official residence of the Pope, the Nunciature is also the Vatican’s embassy in the country. The streets around the Nunciature, which were closed to vehicular traffic in anticipation of the Pope’s arrival, were filled with people eager to catch a glimpse of the Holy Father. Tears, cheers As Pope Francis’ motorcade approached, the crowds cheered, applauded and waved in greeting. Criselda Cabial, who came with her husband and grandchildren, was moved to tears after seeing the Pope speed by in his open aired Popemobile. “Nakita ko siya, nakita ko si Pope!” Cabial cried, saying she felt blessed because she was able to witness a historic event. “It’s so overwhelming. Sinama ko yung mga bata para ma-bless sila ni Pope. I prayed for good health sa family and sa mga bata,” she added. This particular encounter with the Pope is special to the Cabial family, as they initially travelled to the Vatican to witness the canonization of Pope John Paul II. However, the thick crowds in Rome Read More …

After less than an hour of travel from the Villamor Air Base, Pope Francis arrived at the Apostolic Nunciature, his official residence in Manila, early Thursday night. As seen in a live report of GMA News, Pope Francis’ convoy arrived at the Apostolic Nunciature on Taft Avenu in Malate, Manila at 6:55 p.m. The charismatic pontiff was seen smiling and waiving enthusiastically to the cheering crowd that began trooping in the area since Thursday morning. Located at the corner of Quirino Avenue and Taft Avenue in Malate, Manila, the Nunciature serves as the official residence of the Apostolic Nuncio, the Holy See’s ambassador to the country. 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. Pope Paul VI was in the country in 1970; John Paul II, in 1981 and 1995. For the Pope’s privacy and security, media and even government officials were not allowed inside the Nunciature. The roads surrounding the Nunciature were also closed to vehicles as early as Wednesday evening. —NB, GMA News

A joyous, fiesta-like welcome greeted Pope Francis upon his arrival in the Philippines late Thursday afternoon for his much awaited five-day state and apostolic visit. Thousands of people gathered on the streets to witness Pope Francis’ nighttime motorcade that would bring him from Villamor Air Base to the Apostolic Nunciature on Taft Avenue, his official residence during the visit. All over the Philippines, a pre-dominantly Catholic country, Church bells tolled when the 78-year-old Pope arrived for the final leg of his week-long Asian tour. His plane landed 5:32 p.m. and he was fetched from the plane by Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, the apostolic nuncio. Before the Philippines, Pope Francis visited Sri Lanka for the canonization ceremony of Joseph Vaz. He chose Sri Lankan Airlines to fly him to the Philippines instead of the Italian carrier Alitalia. The trip comes just five months after Pope Francis visited South Korea, signalling the hugeimportance the Vatican places on Asia and its potential for more followers. Pope Francis, who arrived via Sri Lanka A340, was welcomed by Philippine government and Church officials led by President Benigno Aquino III. At Villamor Air Base, a festive dance number was performed by Filipino students to greet the Pope.Nine-year-old Lanie Ortillo and 10-year-old Mark Angelo Balbero, both orphans, offered him a bouquet of flowers. The Philippines is one of the Catholic Church’s modern success stories, counting roughly 80 percent of the former Spanish colony’s 100 million people as Catholics, which has helped to offset waning influence in Europe and Read More …