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Pope Francis' visit to the Philippines spoke to Filipinos heart-to-heart

President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines looks on as a girl embraces Pope Francis after a Jan. 16 welcoming ceremony at the Malacanang Palace in Manila. (CNS/Reuters/Ryeshen Egagamao)

by N.J. Viehland

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Pope Francis deeply touched the many Filipinos who came in droves to see the pope who loves children and poor people, embraces the sick and suffering, and speaks to them heart-to-heart.

According to Francis , he was also moved by the people he met. On an in-flight interview on his return to Rome from Manila, the pope said his visit to Tacloban -- Typhoon Haiyan's ground zero -- was the most moving experience of his Jan. 15-19 pastoral visit to the Philippines.

Even though a typhoon threatened to cut his visit short, Francis arrived in Tacloban, donning a yellow plastic raincoat throughout the entire Mass with survivors and pushing through with his motorcade to the town of Palo and then back to Tacloban airport.

Haiyan survivor Harold Naputo said people would have understood if Francis hadn't come to Tacloban as planned on Jan. 17, "but it was good that the pope came."

"After Mass, I felt free ... like I did not feel in a very long time. I finally had closure," said Naputo, an elementary school teacher.

Naputo, his wife and his young daughters heard the pope's words loud and clear: "So many of you have lost everything. I do not know what to tell you. But surely he [Jesus on the cross] knows what to tell you! So many of you have lost members of your family. I can only be silent; I accompany you silently, with my heart," Francis said during his homily .

Naputo began to weep uncontrollably. "In all these months, nobody had told us that," Naputo told NCR .

Days after Francis' visit, Naputo and friends were still asking, "Why did we not feel that until the pope came?" They wondered why authorities didn't give them the same message of consolation or say that even though they did not know what to do, they were with the people. Naputo said survivors feel "caught in the middle" of the political tension between national and local officials.

While it is unclear what Francis' words and actions will move politicians to do for survivors, Naputo said, "I want to help beggars and people living off the streets that we see but have been ignoring."

The visit with survivors of the 2013 typhoon -- where more than 6,000 people were killed and more than 4 million people lost their homes -- was the main purpose of his visit to the country, Francis announced in his meeting with President Benigno Aquino III.

During his visit, Francis "communicated very effectively" the theme of mercy and compassion and did not dwell on rituals, structures and "the many things we have accumulated over centuries about the Catholic church," said Oblate Fr. Eliseo Mercado. He joined Francis' encounter with families Jan. 16, the Jan. 18 meeting with the youth and final Mass at Luneta Park.

Mercado noted how the pope would drop his prepared speeches to stress points, teach or to express his own personal feelings. "It's very touching, especially for priests like me," he said.

Mercado said he thought the church had lost touch with the poor and was trying to re-engage them.

"The poor are the very heart of evangelization. Remove the poor from the message of Jesus, and there's nothing there anymore," he said. However, Francis focused on the poor in most of his speeches and drew many people from poor communities to his various activities.

The priest liked most the pope's off-the-cuff remarks to families at the Mall of Asia on Jan. 16, when he stressed the importance of dreaming of a baby's future and of good qualities of spouses. The pope also appealed to the 20,000 people in the arena to retain the ability to dream.

The "classic literature" feel to his speech allowed the pope to navigate controversial issues about family and human life without heavy theologizing or moralizing, Mercado said.

"Francis emphasized church teaching that every family should be a sanctuary of life and urged looking into our value as a people instead of falling prey to ideological colonization," the priest said.

In delivering his speech, Francis also opened up to more people, including those of other faiths. "Anybody belonging to any religion has a husband, wife, children, [or] family and can relate to what Francis discussed," Mercado added.

Naputo told NCR he found relief in the pope's words encouraging people to learn to weep. He said he has lived in a kind of "zombie city" since Typhoon Haiyan. He said he has not cried to try to show his family that everything was under control and going to be OK.

"In fact, I was worrying then where to get money to fix up our house," he said.

Benedictine Sr. Mary John Mananzan, a feminist theologian who chairs the board of trustees of Women and Gender Concerns of the Association of Major Religious Superiors, was "so happy" to hear Francis comment that women were underrepresented in that youth-sharing program.

The pope also reminded its organizers that women have a lot to tell society. "Women are able to pose questions we men are unable to understand," Francis said.

"I cheered this. He is all heart," Mananzan said.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, told reporters at the end of the conference's plenary assembly that Filipinos also "brought out the best in Pope Francis."

He said the whole world watched the country for five days as both the Philippines and Francis gave their best.

"It feels good to be a Filipino these days," Villegas said.

Many of the estimated 7 million people who came to papal visit routes and events had watched stories about the pope on television or heard them on the radio in previous months as the Philippines church prepared for the papal visit .

"We've been praying for him and the papal visit after every Mass for the past months," Luneta Massgoer Rosanna Remigio told NCR . She had cards with prayers issued by the bishops' conference after the Vatican announced the visit.

However, Carmelite Fr. Marlon Lacal, of the Inter-Congregational Theological Center in Quezon City, told NCR he feels "a pinch of sadness" with his excitement over the papal visit.

"The excitement is for the effect of the pope's visit on the church to become evident, and sadness comes with the concern that we will just go back to our 'positions of power' and not take up the challenges Pope Francis posed to clergy and religious," Lacal said.

[N.J. Viehland is NCR correspondent in Manila.]

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10 years of Pope Francis: A look back at his visit in the Philippines

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Pope Francis arrives in Philippines

High point of five-day visit is expected to be open-air mass in Manila on Sunday, expected to draw record crowd of six million

• Are you in the Philippines? Share your photos and stories

Pope Francis arrived in the Philippines on Thursday for a five-day visit that is tipped to attract a record papal crowd.

The pontiff flew to the capital, Manila, from Sri Lanka, where a million worshippers gathered to watch him canonise the country’s first saint and to listen to a homily on religious tolerance.

Francis has said his two-nation tour is aimed at adding momentum to already impressive growth for the Catholic church in Asia, with its support in the Philippines the benchmark for the rest of the region.

About 80% of the former Spanish colony’s 100 million people are Catholic, and the pope is expected to receive an enthusiastic welcome.

“Every step he makes, every car ride he takes, every moment he stays with us is precious for us,” said archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. “Seeing him pass by is a grace. Waving our hands at him in loving welcome is an experience of a lifetime.”

The high point is expected to be an open-air mass at dusk on Sunday at a park in Manila, with organisers preparing for up to six million people despite security concerns and a forecast of rain.

“I really want to see the pope, not just see him on a TV, so I am prepared to sacrifice,” said Vanessa Tupaz, 54, a saleswoman, referring to worries about the dangers of being in such a huge crowd. “There is a feeling that blessings will be coming and there will be answered prayers and naturally, there will be a feeling that you are part of a celebration.”

Organisers have said that if the crowd is as big as expected, it will surpass the previous record for a papal gathering of five million during a mass by John Paul II at the same venue in 1995.

Francis, who will be making the fourth papal visit to the Philippines, is due to visit communities devastated by super-typhoon Haiyan, which killed or left missing 7,350 people in 2013. Church officials have said one of the main reasons for Francis wanting to visit the Philippines was to make a “mercy and compassion” trip to meet survivors of the typhoon.

On Saturday, he is scheduled to deliver a mass to tens of thousands of people in Tacloban, one of the worst-hit cities in the central Philippines, and have an intimate lunch with 30 typhoon survivors.

Authorities have expressed concerns over the pope’s security in the Philippines, where attempts have been made to kill visiting pontiffs twice before. Nearly 40,000 soldiers and police are being deployed in response to what the Philippine military chief General Gregorio Catapang described as a “security nightmare”.

Potential stampedes from the giant crowds, as well as the threat of Islamist militants or lone-wolf assailants, are among the concerns.

On the first papal visit to the Philippines in 1970, a Bolivian painter Benjamin Mendoza donned a fake priest’s cassock and swung a knife at Pope Paul VI as he arrived at Manila airport. Paul VI was wounded but continued his trip without disclosing his injury.

A week before John Paul II’s 1995 visit, police uncovered a plot by foreign Islamist extremists to kill him by bombing his Manila motorcade route.

On Monday the Philippine president, Benigno Aquino, made a nationally televised address specifically to highlight the security threats for the pope and call on all Filipinos to help protect him. “I ask you, do you want history to record that a tragedy involving the pope happened in the Philippines,” Aquino said.

Adding to the concerns, the 78-year-old pontiff has insisted he will not travel in a bulletproof “popemobile” during big events, so that can he be closer to the faithful.

The pope flew out of Sri Lanka on Thursday morning, a day after one million people gathered to hear him give mass in what police said was the biggest public celebration ever in the capital, Colombo.

Many had waited through the night to see the first pope to visit the island in two decades canonise Joseph Vaz, a 17th-century missionary who disguised himself as a beggar to evade persecution.

Francis also became the first pope to visit Sri Lanka’s former warzone, using a prayer service at a small jungle shrine to urge forgiveness to heal the wounds of a long civil war.

His visit, which began on Tuesday, came days after an election that exposed bitter divisions on the island and saw the surprise victory of Maithripala Sirisena over the hardline incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith said the pope had brought “great joy” to the island as it struggled to recover from civil war.

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All you need to know about the papal visit

MANILA, Philippines – Pope Francis arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Tuesday morning, on the first leg of his second visit to Asia. He will arrive in Manila on Thursday, at 5:45 p.m. INQUIRER.net compiled a list of frequently asked questions regarding Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines as well as previous papal visits of Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II.

1. What is the purpose of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Visit?

The main purpose of the Pope’s visit is to be with the victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan), the strongest typhoon in history to make landfall. He has also in the past said he would like to visit Asia because his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, never got to, because of health reasons. He visited South Korea last August.

2. Why the theme ‘Mercy and Compassion’?

According to Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, mercy and compassion commonly figure in Pope Francis’ teachings, homilies and actions. The Pope has also called on the faithful to practice these traits when interacting with the poor and in need.

• CBCP puts up website for papal visit 

3. Will there be work or classes during the papal visit?

Jan. 15, 16 and 19 have been declared special nonworking holidays in the National Capital Region to give the public more opportunity to participate in the papal visit.

In Tacloban City, Jan. 15 and 16 have been declared special nonworking holidays. Classes have also been suspended from Jan. 14 to 16. In Palo, classes have been suspended on Jan. 15 and 16 only.

• 3 papal visits declared special nonworking days

4. What Masses and other events are open to the public?

Most events may be attended by the public via big screens to be set up outside, but certain groups will be given priority in designated events. No tickets are needed.

• The Mass at Manila Cathedral (Jan. 16, 11:15 a.m.) is open to the public, but only delegates from dioceses across the country can be accommodated inside the church due to the limited space. Tents and chairs will be set up outside the cathedral for the public.
• The Meeting of the Families at Mall of Asia (Jan. 16, 5:30 p.m.) is not open to the public and will be attended by families preselected by the dioceses.
• The Mass at the Tacloban airport (Jan. 17, 9:30 a.m.) is open to the public but the venue can accommodate less than 200,000 people.
• The youth dialogue at the University of Santo Tomas (Jan. 18, 9:45 a.m.) is open to the public, but the quadrangle will be reserved for students and youth representatives.
• The Mass at Quirino Grandstand (Jan. 18, 3:30 p.m.) is open to the public.

5. What should we expect from the Mass at Quirino Grandstand?

6. Will the Masses and addresses all be in English?

Majority of the Pope’s Masses and addresses will be in English so as to reach more people. Only the Mass at Manila Cathedral will be in Latin, as the main attendees are bishops and preselected members of the dioceses, who are expected to understand Latin. In all events, however, the Pope could make off-the-cuff remarks in either Italian or Spanish, the languages he is most comfortable with. In South Korea last year, however, Pope Francis also offered impromptu remarks in English.

• Pope Francis to say Masses in English in PH visit
• Pope Francis polishes his English for PH visit

7. Where will the Pope stay while in the Philippines?

As in the past, the Apostolic Nunciature on Taft Avenue, Manila, is the official quarters of all visitors from the Vatican.

8. Where will the Pope’s motorcade pass?

• From Villamor Air Base to the Apostolic Nunciature on Jan. 15, starting 6 p.m. People may line the streets starting 2 p.m.
• From the Apostolic Nunciature to Malacanang on Jan. 16, from 8 a.m.
• From Malacañang to Manila Cathedral on Jan. 16, from 10:15  a.m.
• From Manila Cathedral to Apostolic Nunciature on Jan. 16, starting 12 p.m.
• From Apostolic Nunciature Mall of Asia on Jan. 16, between 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
• From the Apostolic Nunciature to Villamor Airbase on Jan. 17, around 7 a.m.
• From the Tacloban airport to Gonzaga Haus on Jan. 17, between 10 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.
• From Pope Francis Center for the Poor to Cathedral of Our Lord’s Transfiguration in Palo, Leyte, between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
• From Villamor Air Base to Apostolic Nunciature on Jan. 17, starting 5 p.m.
• From Apostolic Nunciature to University of Santo Tomas on Jan. 18, starting 6:30 a.m.
• From Apostolic Nunciature to Quirino Grandstand on Jan. 18, between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
• From Quirino Grandstand to Apostolic Nunciature on Jan. 18, after the Mass at Luneta
• From Apostolic Nunciature to Villamor Air Base on Jan. 19, between 6 a.m. and 9:45 a.m.

9. What is the Popemobile for the Philippine visit?

Three Popemobiles have been prepared for the papal visit: one for Manila, one for Tacloban City and one backup vehicle.

In Manila, Pope Francis will ride in a white converted jeepney, the most common form of public transport in the Philippines. Some of its unique features include a secure, elevated platform to give the Pope a better view of the public, open windows and, found at each side of the jeep, glass crosses made by renowned sculptor Randy Orlina.

The vehicle to be used in Tacloban is the same Korean-made vehicle from World Youth Day in South Korea.

• Pope Francis to tour Manila in custom-made jeepney

10. What should we do, wear or bring during the papal events?

11. Is it true that some flights have been canceled due to the papal visit?

Around 423 international and domestic flights scheduled between 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Jan. 15 and between 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 19 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport have been canceled to make way for the papal visit.

• MIAA to meet with airlines execs over Naia arrangements for Pope Francis visit
• PAL adjusts flights during papal visit
• Cebu Pacific cancels flights in Naia for Pope Francis visit
• AirAsia cancels flights in Naia for papal visit

12. Does this also mean that roads to and from Naia will also be closed?

The whole stretch of Sales Avenue to Andrews Avenue, Domestic Road to Park and Fly, and MIA Road going to Roxas Boulevard will be closed from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Jan. 15 and from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Jan. 16. Some Naia terminals will be accessible only via South Superhighway through Bicutan, Alabang and Sucat Road.

• Airport roads to be closed Jan. 15, 16 for Pope Francis visit

Quirino Grandstand will also be closed from when the Pope arrives until 6 a.m., Jan. 18.

• Pope Francis to roam around 58-hectare Rizal Park to bless people before Holy Mass 

Past papal visits

1. how many popes have visited the philippines.

Two popes have visited the country thrice. Pope Paul VI visited the Philippines in 1970 and Pope John Paul II visited in 1981 and 1995.

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Read the details of their visits here:

• Speeches of previous popes who visited the Philippines

2. Why didn’t Pope Benedict XVI visit the Philippines during his term?

The previous Pontiff said his health prevented him from traveling for long hours. His health was also the reason behind his decision to step down from the papacy in 2013.

Sources: Inquirer.net, papalvisit.ph, vatican.va

Originally posted: 1:03 PM | Tuesday, January 13th, 2015

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The Two-Way

International, tens of thousands welcome pope francis in the philippines.

Eyder Peralta

Pope Francis waves to the faithful upon his arrival in Manila on Thursday. Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images hide caption

Pope Francis waves to the faithful upon his arrival in Manila on Thursday.

With tens of thousands of faithful lined up to welcome him, Pope Francis landed in Manila, capital of the Philippines, on Thursday.

As Reuters reports, the visit is marked by intense security, the biggest security operation of its kind in the country's history. Reuters explains :

"The other pontiffs to visit the Philippines were both targets of assassination attempts, prompting the deployment of nearly 50,000 soldiers and police in the capital and in the central Philippine province of Leyte for his weekend trip there. "On Wednesday, President Benigno Aquino personally inspected motorcade routes and public venues, which were lined with black-and-white concrete barriers topped by thick wire mesh to control eager crowd. "Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas said Aquino was willing to serve as Francis' 'personal bodyguard' to ensure his safety. In a televised address on Monday, Aquino appealed to Filipinos to follow security rules after two people were killed in a stampede during a religious procession on Friday."

The plots, according to Reuters, happened in 1970, when an artist tried to stab Pope Paul VI and in 1995, when police discovered a plot to blow up Pope John Paul II.

The New York Times reports that despite the church's waning influence in the Philippines, Pope Francis is being welcomed with "arms open wide."

When Pope John Paul II visited, it prompted the "largest papal gathering ever."

Some experts, reports the Times , are expecting Francis to break that record with gathering that could exceed eight million people.

"There were four million people gathered when Pope John Paul II came to Manila in 1995," the Rev. Xavier C. Alpasa, a priest and professor at Ateneo de Manila, a Jesuit university in Manila, told the Times . "That record will be broken because of the deep spirituality of Filipino Catholics, but also because of Pope Francis himself. People are so enamored by his inclusive statements, his revolutionary ideas, his compassion."

Francis will be in the Phillipines through the weekend. He's scheduled to officiate mass near the Tacloban Airport on Saturday. If you remember, Tacloban was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.

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Outpouring for Francis in Poignant Manila Visit

Pope Francis completed his trip to Asia with a Mass in Manila on Sunday.

Francis greeted the crowd in Manila.

Attendees waited in the rain Sunday before the Mass.

Manila’s Rizal Park on Sunday, as seen in a photo from the Philippine Air Force Public Information Office.

Francis visited the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on Sunday.

During his speech at the university, Francis spoke about the need for a sense of compassion.

A crowd waiting for Francis to arrive at the University of Santo Tomas.

By Floyd Whaley and Austin Ramzy

• Jan. 18, 2015

MANILA — As he celebrated Sunday Mass before a crowd of millions here in a cornerstone of Catholicism in Asia, Pope Francis stressed the need to care for the world’s poor, a theme he has repeated throughout his five-day visit to the Philippines.

He also touched on the subject of the environment, a topic he is expected to address in depth in an encyclical later this year.

God “created the world as a beautiful garden and asked us to care for it,” Francis said. “Through sin, man has disfigured that natural beauty. Through sin, man has also destroyed the unity and beauty of our human family, creating social structures that perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption.”

Six million people gathered here in Rizal Park and surrounding streets, according to Col. Restituto Padilla Jr., a military spokesman. The crowd waited for hours in a light rain for the afternoon Mass.

With vehicle traffic blocked off for security, crowds arrived on foot, walking slowly through muddy, flooded streets. Alyssa Sarmiento, a 25-year-old computer programmer, stood drenched in the rain near the park with a wide smile on her face. Ms. Sarmiento, a Manila resident, came at 5 a.m. and was able to see the pope, who arrived hours later riding in a white popemobile built like a jeepney, a truck with a covered bed commonly used for mass transit in the Philippines.

“It feels good when you see his face,” she said. “I just wanted to feel what other people felt when they saw him. It feels good.”

As the Mass was broadcast on loudspeakers, the crowd stood quietly, some raising their hands in quiet reverence, others huddling together to avoid the rain.

Ruby Estrella, a 45-year-old resident of the province of Rizal, just east of Manila, cuddled with her young son under a tarp. From their shelter, they were unable to see the Mass or the large television screens set up around the park. “We can hear him,” she said. “That’s good enough.”

Earlier on Sunday, in remarks at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Francis spoke about the need to deepen one’s sense of compassion, to go beyond simply giving to the poor by understanding their plight.

Glyzelle Palomar, 12, who said she had witnessed drugs and prostitution while living on the street before she was given shelter by an aid group, openly wept as she asked the pope why children were allowed to suffer. The crowd applauded when the pope embraced the girl and a 14-year-old boy, who had also once been homeless.

“The nucleus of your question almost doesn’t have a reply,” he said. “Only when we, too, can cry about the things that you said are we able to reply to that question. Why do children suffer so much? Why do children suffer? When the heart is able to ask itself something and cry, then we are able to understand something.”

Rizal Park, which can hold about 700,000, was divided into large quadrants that allowed Francis to move between groups. As many as five million people turned out when John Paul II celebrated a Mass in the same park in 1995. On Sunday, a crowd again filled the park and nearby side streets, and about 20,000 police officers were on duty for crowd control, in addition to medical personnel and volunteers.

Francis has discussed humans’ effect on the environment and climate change at points on this trip, which has special resonance in a country frequently battered by powerful typhoons. About one-quarter of the Philippines’ 100 million citizens live in poverty, and those in substandard housing in coastal areas are particularly vulnerable to storms.

“He’s determined not to forget the poor,” said Neil Ormerod, a professor of theology at Australian Catholic University. “That’s been a constant theme in everything he’s said and done, and that’s really why the climate change issue is dear to his heart — seeing those impacted in some of the poorest countries on earth, who are doing the least to cause the problems.”

Floyd Whaley reported from Manila, and Austin Ramzy from Hong Kong.

Watch CBS News

Pope visits world's most populous Catholic nation

January 15, 2015 / 6:22 AM EST / CBS/AP

MANILA, Philippines -- Pope Francis has arrived in the Philippines, Asia's most populous Catholic nation, where ecstatic crowds awaited the first papal visit in 20 years.

Church bells tolled across the country and hundreds of children danced and waved small Philippine and Vatican flags as the pontiff emerged from the plane and was welcomed by well-wishers led by President Benigno Aquino III at a Manila air base.

A windy day in the Philippines capital saw the Pope's white skull cap blown off by a gust of wind as he left the plane, while at the greeting ceremony his cape blew over his head.

The government has declared national holidays during the pope's visit, which runs through Monday. He will be in the capital of Manila and fly Saturday to eastern Leyte province, where he plans to meet survivors of Typhoon Haiyan that left thousands of people dead in 2013.

The pope's trip has given Philippine authorities daunting security challenges, including an outdoor Mass that could draw a record crowd.

The Pope visited Sri Lanka Tuesday where he was greeted by a display of forty elephants before heading to the Philippines, the culmination of his week-long Asia tour.

Pope Francis plans to visit Philadelphia in September for the 2015 World Meeting of Families .

More from CBS News

Millions Expected to See Pope Francis Visit the Philippines

Y ou know the expression, more Catholic than the Pope? Well, the Philippines, more than any other country, comes close. More than 80% of the former Spanish colony’s population — or about 70 million people — are Catholic, and the Church still holds considerable sway in matters of state. It is the only country outside the Vatican City, for instance, where divorce is illegal. When Pope John Paul II visited in 1995, he was greeted like a rock star; a record-breaking 5 million people attended his Manila mass.

Now it’s Pope Francis’ turn for a grand tour of Asia’s most Catholic nation. He lands in the Philippines Thursday evening, local time, to start a four-day visit. His itinerary includes a trip to the area hit by Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda), and a mass in the capital, Manila, on Sunday. Local authorities are expecting a millions-strong gathering, despite concerns about security (more on that here ) and the possibility of torrential rain.

If previous visits are any indication, it’s going to be a party. Filipinos are convening on the capital from across the country and around the world. Many will stand in line for days for the chance to see him. If they don’t they can still buy all manner of Pope merchandise — from stamps to t-shirts to commemorative children’s books. Odds are good that the crowds will at some point burst into the event’s official song .

Amid all the pageantry, Filipinos will be listening closely for Pope Francis’ perspective on issues of national concern. Although the Philippines is still heavily influenced by Church thinking — gay marriage is banned; abortion is illegal — over the last decade or so, there has been a move away from a hard-line stance on the use of modern methods of contraception, such as condoms and birth control pills.

For years, even as contraception became the norm elsewhere, the country’s Catholic establishment remained firmly opposed to the use any type of prophylactic, casting condoms as anti-Filipino and an affront to God’s will. In 2000, the mayor of Manila effectively banned the distribution of condoms in government hospitals and clinics.

In 2012, after more than a decade of debate, the government finally passed a national family planning bill. It was victory for rights campaigners and women’s groups, and the fulfillment of a campaign promise for President Benigno Aquino III , but remains deeply unpopular among conservatives.

With a Pope in town for the first time in 10 years, Filipinos will be keen to hear his thoughts on this and other questions. Much has changed in Filipino society since 1995; their love for the Pope has not.

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Write to Emily Rauhala at [email protected]

Pope Francis recalls visit to the Philippines affectionately

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The Holy Father Pope Francis sent a video message for the Filipinos in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Christian faith in the country. The video was released on April 4, 2021, Easter Sunday.

“Give thanks for the gift of faith. Thank God for the people who have given you faith and for the people to whom you will transmit the faith, renewing the desire to evangelize, to reach others and bring them the hope and joy of the Gospel,” Pope Francis said.

In his video message, Pope Francis said the Christian faith of the Filipinos is rooted in three things: Nazareth, the Cross and Pentecost.

The Holy Father also recalled his visit to the Philippines in January 2015. The Filipinos, Pope Francis recalled, know how to celebrate the gift of faith they received even amid difficulties.

“Dear friends, I remember my visit to your country with a lot of affection. I don’t forget that final meeting with almost 7million people. You are generous. You are bountiful. You know how to celebrate the feast of faith. Don’t lose that even in the midst of difficulties,” the Pope said.

Pope Francis also said the Sto. Nino is the “symbol of the arrival of Christianity” in the country making them recognize the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus.

“Likewise, you, opening the doors of your family to the Santo Niño, will be able to transmit to your children the faith which you have received from your parents. Thank you for the profound sense of family, of community, of fraternity, which keeps you united, which keeps you form in faith, joyful in hope, prompt in charity,” he said.

The Supreme Pontiff also extends his support to the Filipinos who continuously live their lives even in times of hardships. However, he asked them to pray for him as he continues his mission in propagating the Christian faith.

“Keep going! The Pope accompanies you. May Jesus bless you, bless all Filipino people and may the Holy Virgin take care of you. May the Santo Niño be always with you. And please, do not forget to pray for me,” Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis presided over the Easter Sunday Mass at the St. Peter’s Basilica at the Altar of the Chair, after which he delivered his Urbi et Orbi message. (Jheng Prado/RCAM-AOC)

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Pope Francis met by huge crowd on visit to typhoon-hit Tacloban in Philippines

The pope was celebrating a mass in an open field near the airport, article bookmarked.

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Pope Francis donned a yellow poncho to brave the weather in Tacloban as thousands turned out to celebrate mass amidst the devastation still present from Typhoons Ruby and Haiyan.

The Pope had promised to visit the people suffering from the combined effects of two typhoons that ripped through southeast Asia in 2013 and 2014, causing huge damage in The Philippines. United Nations figure estimate that roughly 11 million people may have been affected by Haiyan.

In a heartfelt speech, and ignoring his prepared homily, Pope Francis conceded it was hard to find the right words to comfort the thousands left homeless or those that had lost family members.

"So many of you have lost everything," he told almost 150,000 Catholics assembled in the muddy pitch, many of them also wearing yellow plastic ponchos to keep the rain off.

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With the wind howling about the 78-year-old religious leader, the altar cloth and candlesticks were rocked back and forth as the Pope delivered his message.

"I don't know what to say to you, but the Lord does know what to say to you. Some of you lost part of your families.

Pope Francis gives life advice: in pictures

“All I can do is keep silent. And I walk with you all with my silent heart," he told the crowd through an interpreter, talking in his native Spanish as he frequently does when speaking off-the-cuff.

The crowd broke into a spontaneous round of applause when the Pope told them he had decided to visit Tacloban, a city of 200,000 that was among the worst damaged by Haiyan, in the days following the storm’s landing.

After mass the Pope was driving past cheering crowds to eat lunch with 30 survivors of Haiyan before having to unexpectedly cut his visit short.

The arrival of Tropical Storm Mekkhala forced the Pope to return to his plane ahead of schedule after warnigns from the Philippines Airlines pilot over bad weather conditions for fluying.

Apologising to the congregation in Palo’s (a city in Leyte prvince) cathedral, the Pope said: "I am sad about this, truly saddened."

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Frail pope to embark on Asia trip, his longest ever, in September

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Pope Francis will head to Asia and Oceania in September for his longest foreign trip yet

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore from Sept. 2 to 13.

The news came in a statement from Matteo Bruni, the director of the Holy See’s press office, who said the pope “will undertake an Apostolic Journey” to these four countries at “the invitation of the respective Heads of State and Church Authorities.”

It will be Francis’ 45th foreign trip since becoming pope on March 13, 2013, and the longest he has undertaken to date—a total of 12 days. He has already visited 61 countries.

This would be a demanding trip, even for a younger man. Francis turned 87 in December and has had mobility issues in recent years, but he is determined to travel.

Mr. Bruni only gave a basic outline of the papal journey and said a more detailed program would be provided later.

Pope Francis will visit Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia with a population of around 11 million people, Sept. 3 to 6. Indonesia is a country of almost 280 million people with the largest Muslim population in the world. There are more than eight million Catholics in the country. He will be the third pope to visit the country. Paul VI went there in 1970; John Paul II went there in 1989 and also visited Dili in Timor-Leste, then under Indonesian occupation.

From Jakarta, he will travel to Papua New Guinea, a country in Oceania with a population of 10.5 million people, 32 percent of whom are Catholic. He will stay there from Sept. 6 to 9 and visit two cities: Port Moresby, the capital, and Vanimo, a city in the north-westernmost part of Papua New Guinea on a peninsula close to the Indonesian border. He will be the second pope to visit Papua New Guinea after John Paul II, who traveled there in 1984.

He will fly from there to Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, from Sept. 9 to 11. Timor-Leste is the most Catholic country in Asia—97 percent of its 1.4 million population is Catholic, and the people there have long wanted Francis to visit. He will be the first pope to travel to the country since it gained independence in 2002.

He will conclude this long journey with a visit to Singapore, an island country and city-state in southeast Asia, from Sept. 11 to 13. Singapore has a population of six million people, of whom around 395,000 are Catholic, about 3 percent of the population. He will be the second pope to visit there; John Paul II visited in 1986.

Francis has looked especially to Asia since the beginning of his pontificate. Following in the footsteps of the first Jesuits, he identified the continent, where two-thirds of humanity lives, as a priority for evangelization, a part of the world that could offer a new springtime to the church. He has already made five journeys to Asia. The countries he has visited to date include South Korea (2014); Sri Lanka and the Philippines (2015); Myanmar and Bangladesh (2017); Thailand and Japan (2019); Kazakhstan (2022); and Mongolia (2023).

Vietnam is not listed among the countries that Francis will visit on this trip to Asia and Oceania, though he has received an invitation from the president of the country and from its bishops’ conference, but it is known that Francis wants to go there, too, and some sources think he could do so in 2025.

Gerard O’Connell is America ’s Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History . He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.

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Pope Francis set to travel across Asia in longest trip of papacy

P ope Francis will visit Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Singapore in September, the Vatican has announced, confirming the longest trip of Francis’ papacy that is sure to test his health, stamina and mobility.

The Vatican confirmed the September 2-13 visit, saying the 87-year-old pope would visit Jakarta, Indonesia; Port Moresby and Vanimo, Papua New Guinea; Dili, East Timor; and Singapore.

Further details will be announced later.

Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, had to cancel a planned visit to Dubai late last year after he came down with a bad case of bronchitis.

He suffered from respiratory problems all winter and had to curtail his participation in Holy Week events to save his energy for Easter.

Francis has also been using a wheelchair for nearly two years because of bad knee ligaments, and has said that traveling has become increasingly more difficult.

And yet at 11 days, the trip would be the longest of Francis’ papacy, outpacing by a few days some of his long trips to the Americas early on in his 11-year papacy.

It will bring the Argentine Jesuit to the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, as well as the former Portuguese colony of East Timor, where the Catholic Church wields enormous influence.

There is also a chance of another leg to the trip being added later – this week, the Vatican foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, was in Vietnam and discussed a papal visit, Vatican News reported, without providing details.

In a statement announcing the visit, the Indonesian foreign ministry welcomed the visit and recalled that it had originally been scheduled for 2020 but was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The visit of Pope Francis to Indonesia holds significant importance to the Indonesian people, not only for Catholics but also for all religious communities. The visit is also expected to strengthen the message of tolerance, unity and world peace,” the statement said.

Indonesia is home to roughly 242 million Muslims and 29 million Christians — 8.5 million of whom are Catholics — according to a 2022 report by the Religious Affairs Ministry.

East Timor, which today has a population of about 1.2 million people, is Southeast Asia’s only predominantly Christian nation with the exception of the Philippines. According to the 2015 census, 97.6% of East Timor’s population is Catholic.

The visit to East Timor will likely reignite attention over a clergy sex abuse scandal involving its revered independence hero and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

The Vatican confirmed in 2022 that it had sanctioned Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo following allegations that he sexually abused boys there during the 1990s. Belo is believed to now be living in Portugal.

Francis will also be the first pope to visit Papua New Guinea since St John Paul II travelled there in 1984. The country, in a strategically important part of the South Pacific, has struggled with tribal violence and civil unrest.

John Paul also visited Singapore in 1986. The country today is home to 395,000 Catholics and Francis in 2022 made its archbishop Singapore’s first cardinal.

In a statement welcoming the visit, Cardinal William Goh, said it “will bring renewed fervour to all Catholics in Singapore, uniting them in faith and mission, especially in these most challenging of times.”

The Vatican has planned only one other papal trip this year — to Belgium to celebrate the anniversary of the country’s Catholic university. Francis has also said he wants to return to his native Argentina, but no plans or dates have been announced.

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Pope will travel to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore in longest trip of papacy

FILE -Pope Francis waves as he leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Singapore in September, the Vatican announced Friday, April 12 ,2024, confirming the longest trip of Francis’ papacy that is sure to test his health, stamina and mobility. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

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VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Singapore in September, the Vatican announced Friday, confirming the longest trip of Francis’ papacy that is sure to test his health, stamina and mobility.

The Vatican confirmed the Sept. 2-13 visit, saying the 87-year-old pope would visit Jakarta, Indonesia; Port Moresby and Vanimo, Papua New Guinea; Dili, East Timor; and Singapore. Further details will be announced later.

Francis’ health has become a source of increasing concern and speculation, even though the pontiff is able to carry on with a rigorous schedule of meetings at the Vatican and even excursions to local parishes.

Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, had to cancel a planned visit to Dubai late last year after he came down with a bad case of bronchitis. He suffered from respiratory problems all winter and had to curtail his participation in Holy Week events to save his energy for Easter.

Francis has also been using a wheelchair for nearly two years because of bad knee ligaments, and has said that traveling has become increasingly more difficult.

And yet at 11 days, the trip would be the longest of Francis’ papacy, outpacing by a few days some of his long trips to the Americas early on in his 11-year papacy. It will bring the Argentine Jesuit to the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, as well as the former Portuguese colony of East Timor, where the Catholic Church wields enormous influence.

There is also a chance of another leg to the trip being added later: This week, the Vatican foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, was in Vietnam and discussed a papal visit, Vatican News reported, without providing details.

In a statement announcing the visit, the Indonesian foreign ministry welcomed the visit and recalled that it had originally been scheduled for 2020 but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The visit of Pope Francis to Indonesia holds significant importance to the Indonesian people, not only for Catholics but also for all religious communities. The visit is also expected to strengthen the message of tolerance, unity and world peace,” the statement said.

Indonesia is home to roughly 242 million Muslims and 29 million Christians — 8.5 million of whom are Catholics — according to a 2022 report by the Religious Affairs Ministry.

East Timor, which today has a population of about 1.2 million people, is Southeast Asia’s only predominantly Christian nation with the exception of the Philippines. According to the 2015 census, 97.6% of East Timor’s population is Catholic.

The visit to East Timor will likely reignite attention over a clergy sex abuse scandal involving its revered independence hero and Nobel Peace Prize winner. The Vatican confirmed in 2022 that it had sanctioned Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo following allegations that he sexually abused boys there during the 1990s. Belo is believed to now be living in Portugal.

Francis will be the first pope to visit Papua New Guinea since St. John Paul II went there in 1984. The country, in a strategically important part of the South Pacific, has struggled with tribal violence and civil unrest.

John Paul also visited Singapore, in 1986. The country today is home to 395,000 Catholics and Francis in 2022 made its archbishop Singapore’s first cardinal.

In a statement welcoming the visit, Cardinal William Goh, said it “will bring renewed fervor to all Catholics in Singapore, uniting them in faith and mission, especially in these most challenging of times.”

The Vatican has planned only one other papal trip this year — to Belgium to celebrate the anniversary of the country’s Catholic university. Francis has also said he wants to return to his native Argentina , but no plans or dates have been announced.

Karmini contributed from Jakarta, Indonesia.

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Eras Tour (Pope’s Version): Why Francis will skip Philippines in Asian trip

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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Pope Francis gestures on the day of the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 3, 2024.

REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

MANILA, Philippines – “Come back, be here.”

In a move that reminded Filipinos of the popular Eras Tour concert, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis will visit four countries in the Asia-Pacific in September this year, with the Philippines not on the list.

Francis will visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore, in this order, from September 3 to 13.

Netizens asked why Francis will not be stopping by the Philippines, the biggest predominantly Catholic country in Asia, during his Asia-Pacific trip.

The pope skipping the Philippines like the main pop girls I hate it here. https://t.co/rGVrpt0qLX — Ralph (@heyralphhey) April 12, 2024

Not Pope Francis skipping the Philippines in favor of Singapore ala Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour 😭😂 https://t.co/j7IH84sD4R — E J P__PHL 🇵🇭⚖️ (@earl___greggy27) April 12, 2024

The Pope is skipping the Philippines, the most Catholic country in Asia? 😤 He’s not that different from Taylor Swift then. 😆😭 @Pontifex https://t.co/Cz1FWRbCAR — Mel 🍉 (@peanutbuttercup) April 12, 2024

Why no Phils?? https://t.co/HNAnZa1bPC — romina (@minabelles) April 13, 2024

CBCP president explains

Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said in a message to Rappler that the Pope prioritized countries like Singapore and Indonesia “where Catholics are very tiny but influential minorities,” given his increasing frailty.

“Pope Francis has visited the Philippines in 2015 and he has a deep fondness about his Philippine visit, which he keeps mentioning whenever he meets Filipinos in special audiences. But obviously, he is not as energetic as he used to be anymore,” he said.

David noted how Timor-Leste is predominantly Catholic but with “only a small population of one million.” He also depicted the Catholic minorities in the three other countries that the Pope will visit: 30% of the population in Papua New Guinea, 3.1% in Indonesia, and 3% in Singapore.

“Since Indonesia and Singapore are now so easily accessible to Filipinos who are not even required a visa to these fellow ASEAN countries, I am sure many Filipinos who have the means will take advantage of the opportunity to see Pope Francis there,” said the CBCP head, who is also the incoming vice president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences .

Some Filipinos remember this situation all too well after American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift announced additional stops for her Eras Tour, but the Philippines did not make the cut.

The resemblance between Swift’s much-awaited concert and the Pope’s highly anticipated visit brought out jokes from masterminds on the internet.

Rappler’s so unserious with Eras Tour Pope Version 😭 🙏🏻“Look What You Made Me Do…But Thy Will Be Done” 🙏🏻“You Belong With Me…For You Are My Only Begotten Son” 🙏🏻“All Too Well…Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven” https://t.co/dE4T3L93i5 — BrujaTortillasDeliciosas (@BrujaDelDemonio) April 12, 2024

I’m down for Pope’s homily (10-minute version) https://t.co/3NyEn109U9 — Mond (@itsMond621) April 13, 2024

Willing to travel

But just like Swifties and the Eras Tour, many Filipino Catholics expressed their willingness to travel to Singapore or Indonesia – which are four-hour flights away from Manila – just to see the Pope in the flesh.

Let's go to SG!! 😊 https://t.co/pV6Z4Vbg4p — cherry naval 체리 나발 (@chernaval) April 12, 2024

Noted on the dates, God willing I will.. — Magpie (@MoleOnFoot) April 13, 2024

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Pope Francis to visit 4 nations across Asia and Oceania in September

By Devin Watkins

The Holy See Press Office announced on Friday that Pope Francis will visit three nations in Asia and one in Oceania in early September.

He accepted the invitation of the Heads of State and local Church authorities to make what will be his 45th Apostolic Journey abroad.

The Pope is scheduled to depart Rome on September 2 and return on September 13.

He travels first to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, where he will land on September 3 and remain until September 6.

Pope Francis will then fly east to visit Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, and Vanimo on September 6-9.

His next stop will be in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, on September 9-11.

From there, the Pope will travel to Singapore for a 3-day visit on September 11-13.

According to the Holy See Press Office, the full programme of his Apostolic Journey will be published at a later date.

Local Catholic population

Pope Francis first mentioned the possibility of traveling to the region in December 2023.

In an interview with the Mexican broadcaster N+, he said he hoped to travel to “Polynesia” in August and to his native Argentina later in the year.

Then, in January 2024, the Pope told an interviewer with the Italian newspaper La Stampa that he would visit Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia.

Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, and Catholics number over 8 million, or 3.1 percent of the population.

Around 32 percent of Papua New Guinea’s population are Catholic, numbering around 2 million.

Timor-Leste is overwhelmingly Catholic, accounting for around 96 percent of the population, counting over 1 million people.

Some 395,000 Catholics live in Singapore, representing around 3 percent of the population.

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