‘Pope effect’

More than 48 hours since Pope Francis left after his five-day pastoral visit in the Philippines, millions of Filipino Catholics still savor what is now popularly called as the “Pope effect” on them. After a 14-hour flight from Manila, he safely returned to the Holy See and brought back with him to the Vatican what we dubbed as “Pinoy effect” on the 78-year-old Pontiff.

I did not have an up close and personal encounter with Pope Francis while he was here in Manila and in Tacloban. But it was enough for me to see and hear the Masses he celebrated and all his homilies said for us here that were fortunately aired live on television and radio.

Known for his spontaneity, the Argentine-born Pope Francis would rather speak in Spanish, his native tongue, as much as he can when interacting with the people. He noticeably talks in English only during his activities involving government functionaries.

The Pope’s official translator here, Monsignor Mark Gerard Miles even earned many admirers, mostly women who noticed his good looks more than the accuracy of the Pope’s words he translated. To best translate the message accurately in English, the young monsignor would even mimic the Pope’s emphatic voice.

A man of humility, the leader of the Catholic world would even ask first his audience if he would be allowed to speak in Spanish. The Pope would explain he wants to deliver a speech or homily from the heart and not from prepared drafts written for him.

In his interaction with the Filipino youths, Pope Francis again sought permission from his audience if he could respond to them in Spanish, saying he believes that “reality is superior to ideas.” 

Obviously, Pope Francis was oblivious to the fact that translating the languages added time to the very tight schedule he must keep. Thus, even if it was already raining hard, the Pope decided to discard his prepared homily when he faced the people of Leyte in the middle of storm “Amang” that was battering Eastern Visayas.

It turned out it was the first ever mass that Pope Francis celebrated in rains that required him to wear raincoat over his vestments in Tacloban airport last Saturday. The Pope’s visit to the province came 14 months after super typhoon “Yolanda” devastated the province and killed thousands of people, with many still missing from the storm surge.

“I’d like to tell you something close to my heart. When I saw, from Rome, that catastrophe, I felt that I had to be here,” the Pope told Leyte folks. “And on those very days, I decided to come here. I am here to be with you. A little bit late, I have to say, but I’m here,” the Pope humbly admitted.

Acknowledging the feeling and situation of disaster-stricken people of Leyte, Pope Francis did not offer them any false hopes. Instead, the Pope even reminded them about the greater suffering that Jesus Christ did for mankind when He was crucified on the cross.  

“Some of you lost part of your families. All I can do is keep silence. And I walk with you all with my silent heart. Many of you have asked the Lord, ‘Why Lord?’ And to each of you, to your heart, Christ responds from his heart upon the cross,” Pope Francis’ comforting words to them.

“I have come to tell you that Jesus is Lord, that He never lets us down. ‘Father,’ you might say to me, ‘I was let down because I’ve lost so many things. I lost my house, my livelihood, my family. I’ve illness.’ It’s true if you would say that. And I respect those sentiments. But Jesus there nailed to the cross,” while pointing to the image of the crucified Jesus at the altar, “And from there, He does not let us down,” the Pope told them.

A Marian devotee himself, Pope Francis reminded us to also call upon the help of Mother Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ who, he cited, despite her own sadness bravely stood beside her son who was crucified and dying on the cross.

“We are like this little child just there. Who, in moments when we have so much pain, when we no longer understand anything, all we can do is grab hold of her hand firmly, and say, ‘Mom,’ as a child does to his mother when he or she feels fear. It is perhaps the only word that we can say in such difficult times: Mother, Mom,” the Pope recounted in a voice filled with much emotion.

Images from the televised mass in Tacloban showed the heart-tugging scene of weeping men, women and children standing in the pouring rain and strong wind. Rains and tears combined drenched them all despite wearing Vatican-supplied yellow raincoats and ponchos.

His Tacloban visit cut short by Amang, the Pope and his official entourage left in a hurry upon advice of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) pilot who safely flew them to Leyte even in bad weather. But taking no further chances on the safety of “Shepherd One,” as the Pope’s official call sign while here, the PAL pilots led by Capt. Roland Narciso decided to leave the province earlier than scheduled. 

The Vicar of Christ who spread the good news of the Lord broke this bad news with such candor that the people at Palo Cathedral let go their initial protestation. He asked them “to pray” for him and requested them to “be quiet” so they can pray in silence. 

Unfortunately, Amang followed the Pope back to Manila. The interaction with the youth at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) last Sunday morning was rained out towards the end. But Amang unleashed torrents of rain and wind when the Pope celebrated his final mass at the Quirino grandstand in Luneta.

The festive mood at UST turned dramatic when a 12-year-old girl cried uncontrollably and failed to finish her prepared statement for the Pope. “Why does God allow these things to happen?” Glyzelle Palomar, a former street kid asked the Pope about the suffering of children.

Again, without equivocation, Pope Francis confessed he could not give the answer to her innocent question. “She (Palomar) couldn’t put it into words but expressed it with tears,” the Pope pointed out, and later embraced her.

“Certain realities of life we only see through eyes cleansed by our tears,” the Pope spoke with great wisdom. So when the next pope comes to the Philippines, Pope Francis told them in a lighter vein, there should be more girls.

These are just a few of the many “Pope effect” that would remain etched in our memories.