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Arab News
29-04-2025
- General
- Arab News
In Asia's Catholic heartland, Filipinos remember ‘compassionate' Pope who renewed their faith
MANILA: The death of Pope Francis has stirred an outpouring of grief across the Philippines, as many remember his compassionate leadership during one of the nation's darkest times. The Argentine pontiff, leader of the Catholic Church since March 2013, died at his residence, Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican on April 21. He was 88 years old. In the Philippines, home to Asia's largest Catholic population, the pope is adoringly referred to as 'Lolo Kiko,' or Grandpa Kiko. He left an indelible mark in the country after a historic four-day visit in January 2015, when he celebrated an open-air mass in Manila that drew more than 6 million devotees, making it the largest papal gathering in history. But many among the Philippines' 85 million Catholics were deeply moved by his visit to Tacloban City in central Philippines during the same trip, braving heavy rain to conduct a mass in memory of the more than 6,000 people who perished in Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. 'When he visited Manila and Tacloban, especially after the devastation of (the) typhoon, it deeply touched the hearts of so many. He didn't come as a distant leader, but as a father who wanted to personally console and strengthen us,' Alfredo Navarro III, a seminarian from the diocese of Balanga, told Arab News. 'Filipinos love Lolo Kiko so much because he has shown real concern for us. Not just in words, but in action. He has made it clear that he understands our struggles and is familiar with our culture.' For Navarro, Pope Francis was a beacon of hope 'in a world where it sometimes feels like God is absent because of wars, conflicts and so many struggles.' 'Watching Pope Francis live out the Gospel in such a simple yet powerful way made me realize even more deeply that God is truly present, even in the most broken parts of our world. Through him, I felt God's love reaching out to me and to everyone,' he said. 'Because of Pope Francis, I feel a stronger calling to be a sign of that same love — to be more present to others, especially to those who are last, the least and the lost.' World leaders and hundreds of thousands of people bade farewell to Pope Francis in a funeral at the Vatican on Saturday, where he was eulogized as a pope of the people. Many young Filipinos took to social media to mourn his passing, honoring him as an inspiration and a figure who renewed their faith. 'I do not claim to be a model Catholic. I never was and I do not think I will ever be. But his words, his actions, the way he saw Christ in the last, the least and the lost was fuel to my faith. It was grace made real, alive and living,' Marion Bais Guerrero wrote on Facebook. Filipino sociologist Athena Charanne Presto said on X that Pope Francis 'made being Catholic less morally suffocating, less burdened by contradiction.' 'This is heartbreaking news for the faithful and for those like me who only slowly found their way to faith because someone at the helm reminded us that the Church could also be a place to breathe.' In Pope Francis, Raymond Zabala saw a leader who touched the lives of many, even those who are not Catholics. 'He respects all people regardless of their religion or status and in the same manner people from other religions respect him as well. I know of some friends who are non-practicing Catholics who are deeply saddened by his passing,' he told Arab News. 'His passing reminded us of the values of kindness and compassion.'
Filipino Times
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Filipino Times
A world in mourning: Hundreds of thousands gather for Pope Francis' funeral
In a historic display of global mourning and unity, hundreds of thousands of faithful, dignitaries, and world leaders gathered at St. Peter's Square to bid farewell to His Holiness Pope Francis. Among those who paid their final respects were Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos, joining heads of state, church leaders, and representatives from around the world. Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, passed away on April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 due to a cerebral stroke, coma, and irreversible cardiovascular collapse, according to the medical certificate published by the Vatican. His death marks the end of an extraordinary papacy defined by humility, compassion, and a steadfast commitment to the marginalized. Elected on March 13, 2013, Pope Francis made history as the first Jesuit Pope, the first Latin American, and the first non-European pontiff in more than 1,200 years. Adopting the name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, he became a powerful symbol of the Church's mission to serve the poor and advocate for justice. The Filipino people remember Pope Francis fondly, especially for his Apostolic Visit to the Philippines in January 2015. There, he comforted victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) and celebrated the resilience and faith of Filipinos amidst hardship. His visit left a lasting imprint on the hearts of millions. In solidarity with the global community's mourning, President Marcos Jr. declared a period of national mourning in the Philippines through Proclamation No. 871, issued on April 23, 2025. The proclamation honors Pope Francis' legacy until his burial. Following the solemn funeral Mass, Pope Francis' remains will be taken to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome for entombment—making him the first pope in over a century to be buried outside the Vatican grounds. Throughout the funeral ceremonies, a palpable sense of loss transcended religious and national boundaries. A poignant reflection described him as a rare spiritual force who saw dignity beyond denominations and called the world to choose compassion, courage, and action over apathy and applause. Royalty, presidents, prime ministers, and countless ordinary faithful stood side by side under the solemn Roman skies, as Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re led the funeral Mass. In his homily, Cardinal Re prayed: 'Dear Pope Francis, now we ask you to pray for us. We ask you from heaven to bless the Church, bless Rome, bless the whole world, as you did last Sunday from the Lodge of this Basilica in the final embrace with God's people—and at the same time symbolically with all mankind seeking truth with a sincere heart and carrying high the torch of hope.' Today, the world bids farewell not only to a spiritual leader but to a beacon of hope who reminded humanity of its better angels. Pope Francis' legacy will endure in every act of kindness, humility, and courage inspired by his life. —Alona Cochon
France 24
26-04-2025
- General
- France 24
'Shared loss': Filipino Catholics bid Pope Francis farewell
Young people crowded into the front rows of the Sacred Heart Parish Shrine, where a trio of large fans kept parishioners cool as four days of national mourning in Asia's Catholic bastion neared an end. Giving people a place to share their pain and loss was an "act of gratitude," parish priest Father Randy Flores told AFP. "Pope Francis is special for Filipinos because he came here and we saw his impact on the faithful, especially his message of peace and caring for the vulnerable and the poor," Flores said. "Filipinos really love him." Known to many Filipinos as "Lolo Kiko", or "grandfather Francis", the pope visited in 2015, when he ministered to the survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan, the deadliest storm in the country's history. Within hours of the announcement of his death this week, bells were rung and requiem masses were held at churches across the country of more than 90 million Catholics. On Saturday, as Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re delivered his homily in Rome, Joylene Sto. Domingo, 38, recounted how she had strained to catch a glimpse of the pontiff as he passed by on the streets of the capital. You could feel his kindness even from afar, the church youth advisor said. "As the faithful, our faith was reenergised and doubled" by his visit, she said. "He really cared for our youth," she added. "That's why he is our pope." Nedji Lee, a grade 9 student and parish volunteer, told AFP his own fondest memory of Pope Francis had come courtesy of a TikTok video. "He was asked if he could grant only one miracle (what would it be), and he answered that he wanted to heal all the sick children," the 16-year-old remembered. "It made me want to be a better person, a better Catholic." The funeral in Rome was still ongoing when the Manila service concluded. Some stayed and watched silently as the pageantry unfolded on the screens. The young people gathered around a framed photo of the pontiff to snap a group picture, then rushed off for promised snacks. Sister Imaniar Rusani, an Indonesian nun assigned to the Philippines, told AFP she had come to the service because it felt right to be with fellow believers for the funeral. "It's good to be with the people," she said, adding she was unbothered by the service being conducted mostly in Filipino, a language she does not speak.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How Pope Francis won over 80 million hearts in an Asian nation
Lashed by an off-season typhoon, Pope Francis stepped out on a rain-soaked makeshift stage in front of hundreds of thousands of weeping pilgrims in the central Philippines. Organisers had warned him to cancel the 2015 open air mass in Tacloban as the weather had worsened. But Francis was not be put off: he flew through the typhoon from the capital Manila to hold the mass in memory of more than 6,000 people who had perished in Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. As he rode in his popemobile around the vast airport carpark waving to the crowd, palm trees swayed furiously in the storm. In Asia's largest Roman Catholic country, all Popes enjoy rockstar status. Here, religion brought by Spanish colonisers in the 16th Century has become woven into the very fabric of society, and given a distinctly Filipino intensity and colour. In some towns devotees are even nailed to the cross at Easter to imitate the suffering of Jesus. But with his mass in Tacloban - along with his informal, down-to-earth manner and calls for justice - Pope Francis won particular affection among the Philippine's 80 million Catholics. Many have described Monday's death of the man they called Lolo Kiko, or Grandpa Francis, as leaving them feeling like orphans. Masses to mourn him have been held across the country. "So many of you have lost everything," he told those who had gathered in the rain to listen to his sermon more than 10 years ago. "I do not know what to tell you. But surely He 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." And then tragedy struck. A steel scaffolding collapsed, killing 27-year-old Kristel, an aid worker who was among the congregation. Paul Padasas Jr was at home in Taguig, a suburb of Manila, when he received the news of his daughter's death. "I thought of questioning God, why did he let that happen to my daughter?" he told the BBC. The next morning, he woke up to a flurry of missed calls, asking him to come to the Pope's spartan accommodation at the Vatican's diplomatic mission near Manila's old Spanish quarter. He got dressed immediately and brought along his wife and brother-in-law. As he waited in a holding room at the Apostolic Nunciature, staff members asked him to listen to a radio broadcast of the Pope's mass at the nearby University of Santo Tomas. There, the Pope mentioned Kristel and offered his condolences to her family. At that point, Mr Padasas said he broke down. "I was feeling all kinds of emotions at that time." He said he felt extremely nervous as he was led to the Pope's room a few hours later. Beside the Pope was Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, then the Archbishop of Manila, who translated the Pope's words into Tagalog for Mr Padasas. Mr Padasas said the Pope told him that he was praying for Kristel. Then the pontiff placed his hands over Mr Padasas' head and blessed him. "My heart was beating out of my chest. Then I felt something like an electric current going through my entire body," he said. "I told myself, that must be what the Holy Spirit feels like." Mr Padasas recalled feeling at peace. "Our children are just on loan to us from God. Kristel has served her purpose." The rest of the Argentinian-born Pope's visit, which took place just two years into his papacy, was a success. His plane - codenamed Shepherd One - returned to Manila safely from Tacloban the next day, despite the stormy weather. Minutes later, a private jet skidded off the runway, shutting it down. The following day, six million attended the open-air mass he held in and around Luneta, Manila's main square at sunset - the largest congregation ever recorded by the Vatican. It unofficially exceeded the four-million strong crowd at John Paul II's Luneta mass in 1995, officially recognised by the Guinness World records as the world's largest papal gathering. Everywhere Pope Francis went during his five-day visit, traffic stopped and the Catholic faithful scrambled for selfies as his popemobile drove past. Rodrigo Duterte, who would assume the presidency the year after the papal visit, would make headlines after cursing the Pope for the traffic chaos he caused. IN PICTURES: Defining images of Pope Francis's life PROFILE: Acting head of the Vatican Cardinal Kevin Farrell EXPLAINER: How the next pope is chosen When he learned that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88, Mr Padasas said he reached for daughter's photo at the family altar and said to her in prayer: "Please welcome Pope Francis in heaven." He said he still keeps the rosary that Pope Francis gave him as a gift. "I will not sell this, even for a million dollars." Across the country - where it is not uncommon for the smallest village to have a patron saint - church bells tolled and portraits of Pope Francis were hung inside churches as the faithful mourned. "Pope Francis is special to me. He is my favourite pope. As an LGBT member, I saw in him love for all genders, whether you are rich or poor. He is truly the people's pope," 19-year-old nursing student Renzie Sarmiento told BBC News outside Manila Cathedral on Tuesday. "As someone who wants to return to the Catholic Church, Francis is someone who represents the love of Jesus Christ," he said. Mr Sarmiento said he hoped Francis' successor would maintain the Catholic Church's openness to diversity. "Love should not exclude LGBT members," he said. But even as the nation mourns, Filipinos are thinking about what happens next: at the Manila Cathedral mass for Pope Francis, mourners were saying the time has come for someone from one of the largest Catholic populations on the planet to be the church's next leader. In fact, the Philippines has five cardinals who are eligible to vote for - and also potentially be elected as - the next Pope, but many are pinning their hopes on Cardinal Tagle. Luis Antonio Tagle was in Francis' inner circle and is largely believed to be someone who would further his progressive agenda. Based in the Vatican, he is the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, the office that promotes evangelisation and growth of new churches. Widely known as the "Asian Francis", Fr Tagle accompanied Pope Francis on his 11-day tour of South East Asia last year. He also constantly tries to make Catholicism relevant to younger Filipinos with a strong presence on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and X. For ice cream vendor Reymond Clores, a Tagle papacy would be like a dream. "I used to see Cardinal Tagle here all the time. It will be a very happy moment for Filipinos. It will make me very proud as a Filipino," the 37-year-old vendor said. Mr Padasas said Tagle would make a kind Pope, like Francis. "If that happens, I will consider myself very lucky. How many people can say that they met two Popes at the same time?" Francis was a vocal critic of the powerful, his influence felt far beyond faith Final days of Pope who joined Vatican crowds at Easter despite doctors' advice Watch: 'Our father has died' - World mourns for Pope Francis
BBC News
23-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Pope Francis and the Philippines: How he won over the nation
Lashed by an off-season typhoon, Pope Francis stepped out on a rain-soaked makeshift stage in front of hundreds of thousands of weeping pilgrims in the central had warned him to cancel the 2015 open air mass in Tacloban as the weather had worsened. But Francis was not be put off: he flew through the typhoon from the capital Manila to hold the mass in memory of more than 6,000 people who had perished in Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. As he rode in his popemobile around the vast airport carpark waving to the crowd, palm trees swayed furiously in the Asia's largest Roman Catholic country, all Popes enjoy rockstar status. Here, religion brought by Spanish colonisers in the 16th Century has become woven into the very fabric of society, and given a distinctly Filipino intensity and colour. In some towns devotees are even nailed to the cross at Easter to imitate the suffering of with his mass in Tacloban - along with his informal, down-to-earth manner and calls for justice - Pope Francis won particular affection among the Philippine's 80 million Catholics. Many have described Monday's death of the man they called Lolo Kiko, or Grandpa Francis, as leaving them feeling like orphans. Masses to mourn him have been held across the country. "So many of you have lost everything," he told those who had gathered in the rain to listen to his sermon more than 10 years ago. "I do not know what to tell you. But surely He 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."And then tragedy struck. A steel scaffolding collapsed, killing 27-year-old Kristel, an aid worker who was among the Padasas Jr was at home in Taguig, a suburb of Manila, when he received the news of his daughter's death."I thought of questioning God, why did he let that happen to my daughter?" he told the next morning, he woke up to a flurry of missed calls, asking him to come to the Pope's spartan accommodation at the Vatican's diplomatic mission near Manila's old Spanish got dressed immediately and brought along his wife and he waited in a holding room at the Apostolic Nunciature, staff members asked him to listen to a radio broadcast of the Pope's mass at the nearby University of Santo Tomas. There, the Pope mentioned Kristel and offered his condolences to her that point, Mr Padasas said he broke down. "I was feeling all kinds of emotions at that time." He said he felt extremely nervous as he was led to the Pope's room a few hours the Pope was Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, then the Archbishop of Manila, who translated the Pope's words into Tagalog for Mr Padasas said the Pope told him that he was praying for Kristel. Then the pontiff placed his hands over Mr Padasas' head and blessed him."My heart was beating out of my chest. Then I felt something like an electric current going through my entire body," he said. "I told myself, that must be what the Holy Spirit feels like."Mr Padasas recalled feeling at peace. "Our children are just on loan to us from God. Kristel has served her purpose." The rest of the Argentinian-born Pope's visit, which took place just two years into his papacy, was a plane - codenamed Shepherd One - returned to Manila safely from Tacloban the next day, despite the stormy weather. Minutes later, a private jet skidded off the runway, shutting it following day, six million attended the open-air mass he held in and around Luneta, Manila's main square at sunset - the largest congregation ever recorded by the Vatican. It unofficially exceeded the four-million strong crowd at John Paul II's Luneta mass in 1995, officially recognised by the Guinness World records as the world's largest papal Pope Francis went during his five-day visit, traffic stopped and the Catholic faithful scrambled for selfies as his popemobile drove Duterte, who would assume the presidency the year after the papal visit, would make headlines after cursing the Pope for the traffic chaos he caused. IN PICTURES: Defining images of Pope Francis's lifePROFILE: Acting head of the Vatican Cardinal Kevin FarrellEXPLAINER: How the next pope is chosen When he learned that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88, Mr Padasas said he reached for daughter's photo at the family altar and said to her in prayer: "Please welcome Pope Francis in heaven."He said he still keeps the rosary that Pope Francis gave him as a gift. "I will not sell this, even for a million dollars."Across the country - where it is not uncommon for the smallest village to have a patron saint - church bells tolled and portraits of Pope Francis were hung inside churches as the faithful mourned. "Pope Francis is special to me. He is my favourite pope. As an LGBT member, I saw in him love for all genders, whether you are rich or poor. He is truly the people's pope," 19-year-old nursing student Renzie Sarmiento told BBC News outside Manila Cathedral on Tuesday."As someone who wants to return to the Catholic Church, Francis is someone who represents the love of Jesus Christ," he Sarmiento said he hoped Francis' successor would maintain the Catholic Church's openness to diversity."Love should not exclude LGBT members," he even as the nation mourns, Filipinos are thinking about what happens next: at the Manila Cathedral mass for Pope Francis, mourners were saying the time has come for someone from one of the largest Catholic populations on the planet to be the church's next leader. In fact, the Philippines has five cardinals who are eligible to vote for - and also potentially be elected as - the next Pope, but many are pinning their hopes on Cardinal Antonio Tagle was in Francis' inner circle and is largely believed to be someone who would further his progressive agenda. Based in the Vatican, he is the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, the office that promotes evangelisation and growth of new known as the "Asian Francis", Fr Tagle accompanied Pope Francis on his 11-day tour of South East Asia last year. He also constantly tries to make Catholicism relevant to younger Filipinos with a strong presence on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and ice cream vendor Reymond Clores, a Tagle papacy would be like a dream."I used to see Cardinal Tagle here all the time. It will be a very happy moment for Filipinos. It will make me very proud as a Filipino," the 37-year-old vendor Padasas said Tagle would make a kind Pope, like Francis."If that happens, I will consider myself very lucky. How many people can say that they met two Popes at the same time?"
