Pope Francis I arrived in Manila yesterday at around 5:30 PM. The main purpose of this visit is for the Pope to visit the communities devastated by Typhoon Yolanda. While most of his time will be spent in Metro Manila, he will also be going to Visayas to inaugurate the Pope Francis Center for the Poor. This facility in Leyte which is funded by the Vatican will have a chapel, a clinic, an orphanage, and a home for the elderly. As the official website of the Philippine Papal Visit states, the Pope brings with him the message of the mercy and compassion of God.
photo courtesy of Paul Barker/REUTERS, link from ph.news.yahoo.com
It's amazing to see the throngs of people lined up at the sides of the roads or outside SM MOA Arena just to catch a glimpse of the Pope as he waves at them through the Popemobile. The excitement of the crowds can be felt even through the TV screen and it's incredible to hear their unbridled cheers as they see the Pope. People have been interviewed saying that the exhaustion and the waiting time is all worth it and I can just imagine what the energy must feel like when you are amidst the crowds.
Earlier today, the Pope celebrated a mass at the Manila Cathedral. I'm watching the live coverage of the Papal Visit and the Pope is now at the SM MOA Arena to meet with poor families, families of OFWs, and families of people with disabilities. You can check out the full itinerary in Rappler as well as at the official website of the Papal Visit (although there must be millions of people checking this site out as it has failed to load a few times today because it has exceeded bandwidth limitations!)
Some other noteworthy moments so far in the Papal Visit so far:
- About 300 urban poor were given VIP seats at the MOA Arena so they could face the Pope directly.
- In his speech at the Malacanang earlier today, the Pope urged the Philippine government to fight against corruption. He asked Philippine political leaders to be "outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good" to addres the "glaring and indeed scandalous social inequalities".
- He also took time outside his official itinerary to visit a home for street children run by the Anak-TNK Foundation.
Il Papa sorride e parla spagnolo ed รจ felice #PapaFilippine pic.twitter.com/Zs1DlLu99S
— Antonio Spadaro SJ (@antoniospadaro) January 16, 2015
As goosebump-inducing as this visit has been so far, I am sure things will be even more emotional and spiritual as the Pope arrives in Leyte tomorrow where he will celebrate a mass, meet with some survivors of Yolanda, and inaugurate the Pope Francis Center for the Poor.
Read more about the Papal Visit here.
Check out the latest news on the Papal Visit in this link (ph.news.yahoo.com).
Follow Pope Francis on twitter.
No comments:
Post a Comment