Pope Francis recalls 'most moving' moments in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - Pope Francis touched the hearts of millions during his visit to the Philippines. But what were the moments he shared with Filipinos that moved him the most?

Speaking to the media aboard the papal plane that left Manila on Monday, the pontiff recalled how he was moved by the people in Tacloban City in Leyte who braved the rains brought by Tropical Storm "Amang" to attend the holy mass he officiated on Saturday.

"The most moving moment… For me the Mass in Tacloban was very moving. Very moving. To see all of God's people standing still, praying, after this catastrophe, thinking of my sins and those people, it was moving, a very moving moment," he said in the press conference, a transcript of which was published by Jesuit-run Americanmagazine.org.

The pope was referring to the catastrophe that was Typhoon "Yolanda" that devastated Tacloban City in 2013. Francis said he felt "annihilated" or "wiped out" during the mass there last week.

"I almost couldn't speak. I felt very little. I don't know what happened to me, maybe it was the emotion, I don't know. But I didn't feel another thing, it was quite something," said the pope, who had to wear a transparent yellow raincoat over his vestments like the mass attendees amid the rains and winds of the storm.

Pope Francis added that he was also moved by the gestures of the Filipinos that he encountered, such as parents who brought their sick and disabled children so they could be blessed by him.

The pope said he saw gestures "of motherhood, of fatherhood, of enthusiasm, of joy."

"The gestures! The gestures moved me. They are not protocol gestures, they are good gestures, felt gestures, gestures of the heart. Some almost make one weep. There’s everything there: faith, love, the family, delusion, the future," he said.

Francis also recalled his encounter with the crying girl who asked him why God let children suffer. He also remembered his conversation with the father of the female volunteer who died in an accident during the mass in Tacloban City.

The pontiff also reiterated that Christians should be evangelized by the poor.

"Don't forget that we too need to be beggars, from them, from the poor. Because the poor evangelize us. If we take the poor away from the Gospel, we cannot understand Jesus' message," he said.