Pope Francis' homily in Tacloban that moved people to tears

Partial transcript of the Pope's homily in the Eucharistic celebration at Tacloban on the occasion of the Papal visit to the Philippines on January 15 - 19, 2015

Jesus assumed our conditions and our sins.  He made himself  subject unto sin, this is what St. Paul tells us, and Jesus always goes before us.  And when we pass through an experience, he passes there before us.  And fourteen months after Yolanda, we are still here. It is because we are not going to weaken in our faith.  Because Jesus has been there before us, it is in his passion that he assumed all our pains.

I'd like to tell you something close to my heart.

When I saw the catastrophe, I felt I had to be here.  And on those very days I decided to come here.  I'm here to be with you.  I'm a little bit late, but I'm here.

I come to tell you that Jesus is Lord.  And he never lets us down.  "Father," you might say to me, "I lost so many things, my house, my family."  I respect those sentiments, but Jesus there nailed to the cross, and from there he does not let us down.

That is why there is a Lord who is capable of crying with us and walking with us in the most difficult moments of life.

So many of you have lost everything.  I don't know what to say to you. but the Lord knows what to say to you.

Some of you lost members of your families, all I can do is to keep silence, and I walk with you with my silent heart.  Many of you have asked the Lord, "Why Lord?"  Christ responds from his heart. I have no more words to tell you; let us look to Christ.  He is the Lord.  He understands us because he underwent the trials all of you have experienced.  And beside the cross was his mother.  We were like this when we were little children, in the times we have so much pain, we just grab the hand and hold dearly our mama and say, "Mama!" as a child cries to a mother when he feels fear.  It is the only word we can say, "Mother, mom!" Let us together hold a moment o silence.

Let us look on Christ on the cross,   He understands us because he endured everything.

Let us look on his mother, and like that little children, let us grab hold of her mantle, and with a true heart let us say, "Mother!"

Silently, say to the mother what you feel in your hearts.

<silence>

We have our mother; we have Jesus. There, he experienced all calamities we experience.  We have our senior brother, Jesus.  We are not alone.

We have many brothers who in this moment of catastrophe came to help us. We feel we have more brothers sand sisters, because we helped each other.

This what comes from my heart and forgive me if I have no words to add.  Please know Jesus never lets you down.

Please know the love and tenderness of Mary never lets you down.

Holding on to her mantle and to the love Jesus, let us move always forward.  and walk together as brothers and sisters.


Thank you very much.

Partial transcript of the prayer of the Holy Father after Communion

Thank you Lord for being here today with us,

Thank you Lord for sharing in our pain,

Thank you Lord for giving us this opportunity

Thank you Lord for you great mercy.

Thank you Lord because you wish to be like one of us.

Thank you Lord because you are always near to us even in the trying moments.

Thank you Lord for giving us hope.  Lord, may hope never be robbed or taken away from us.

Thank you Lord because in the moments of greatest darkness in our lives you remembered us and you left us our mother and your mother,

Thank you Lord, for not leaving us as orphans,

Partial transcript of the speech of Most Rev. John Du, Archbishop of Palo

Thank you Holy Father!

Thank you blessed Mother in this trying moments of our Life.

I would never have imagined I would say these words in front of your Holiness in the presence of the pilgrims.

In this very place where we are standing on that fateful day of November 8, 2013, in the presence of howling winds, storm surges of over six meters crushed over the place, destroying thousand of homes and killing an innumerable number of people.  Many bodies were washed ashore to the other side of the city.

The suffering of our people defied imagination.

But in the midst of pains and suffering, it was our christian faith that helped us through.

The prayers, solidarity and material help from those all over the world boosted our drooping spirit and inspired us to move on.

And this is why your presence here to give praise to God who of untold capacity once in a lifetime opportunity, to be one with you in joyful thanksgiving.

Our deep appreciation for you can hardly be expressed in words, most Holy Father, for you came despite of the the weather.  We could hardly express in words our thanksgiving to you. Let our unity then in this hollowed place be the manifestation, of our wanting to thank God amidst trials  and tribulations.

We are deeply filled with joy that we have celebrated this Eucharist with us - this great act of thanksgiving to God which is a constant source of strength and fount of hope in Christian life.   You have been with us all this time, and your coming here culminates the great outpouring of spiritual and material assistance form the Church for us.

Your Holiness, you come to us with a father's compassion and loving concern and thus brought us to God the father of all. You come as the shepherd and has brought us to the good Shepherd himself.

Your visit strengthen and consoles us.  May your humble presence among the poor who suffered the tragedy lead us to the restful waters of God's mercy and love.  We will always be grateful.  As the Psalmist says, " ...  The Lord will not abandon his people, nor forsake His inheritance." (Ps. 94, 14)  Jesus will never let us down.

Blessed be God forever!

14 Filipino journalists join Papal Flight

MANILA - The Committee on Information and Media of the Papal Visit is organizing the accreditation of media personnel that will cover the Papal events.  The Accreditation Committee is doing everything in its power to accommodate all media applicants in the spirit of fairness although we do have to acknowledge space limitations in the locations except in Luneta where the Holy Father will preside in the Holy Eucharist.

The media office will also set up its Media centers in Diamond Hotel for the Vatican Press and the its accredited media personnel totaling to about 80 participants.  The Diamond Hotel, where the Media briefings will be held every evening starting January 15, can accommodate 250 participants.  The Main resource person will be Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J. the official Vatican spokesperson.

But there is secondary Press Center located in Manila Hotel Tent City where it can accommodate 3,000 participants.  There will be an interactive facility connecting these two hotels so that the journalists can freely interact with Fr. Lombardi and ask questions.

REGARDING THE VAMP

The Holy See Press Office organized a media group consisting of media representatives from all over the world to accompany the Holy Father Pope Francis cover the Papal events in Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

Known as the Vatican Accredited Media Personnel or VAMP, it is tasked to cover the papal visit at restricted and advantage points and to be with the Holy Father in the Papal Plane as he journeys from Rome to Sri Lanka to the Philippines and back to Rome. 

They will create pools on rotation basis in areas of restricted access.

They shall also be with the Holy Father as he conducts press briefings while inside the plane.

The Holy See Press Office has included in its official list fourteen Filipino journalists.  These come from the our four Filipino broadcast TV Stations, the Radio-TV Malacañang, Radio Veritas, CBCP Media and one from UCAN News.

The names of the fourteen Filipino journalists are as follows:

	NAME	SURNAME	PRESS ORGANIZATION	WORK
1	Nino	MANALO	9TV	CAMERAMAN
2	Ana Patricia Hontiveros	PAGKALINAWAN	9TV	REPORTER
3	Lynda Jumilla	ABALOS	ABS CBN NEWS	REPORTER
4	Ariel	FULGADO	ABS CBN NEWS	CAMERAMAN
5	Cicero Roy	LAGARDE	CBCP NEWS	REPORTER
6	Kara Patria	DAVID	GMA NETWORK	REPORTER
7	Melchor	QUINTOS	GMA NETWORK	CAMERAMAN
8	Joselito	ZULUETA	PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER	REPORTER
9	Marco Paolo	BOMBASE	PHILIPPINES POOL TV	CAMERAMAN
10	Wilfred Delgado	HERRERA	PHILIPPINES POOL TV	EDITOR
11	Gregory Ramon	GASTON	RADYO VERITAS	REPORTER
12	Arvin	RILLERA	TV5 NETWORK INC.	CAMERAMAN
13	Jhemmylrut	TENG	TV5 NETWORK INC.	REPORTER
14	Jose Adrias	TORRES	UCAN NEWS	REPORTER

There are a total of 80 VAMP including the 72 international press organizations, 7 Vatican Press Organizations, and 1 overall coordinator. (Report by Fr. Joselito Jopson)

Pope Francis to make courtesy call to Phl President

MANILA - The Holy Father Pope Francis will make a courtesy call to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III at the Malacañang Palace on January 16, 2015 starting 9:15 in the morning.

Not only is the Pope’s visit an apostolic visit; his visit to the Philippines is also a state visit, as he is the head of the Vatican which is regarded as the smallest internationally recognized independent state but at the same time the main Episcopal see of more than 1.2 billion Catholics from all over the globe.

The courtesy call will be highlighted by the singing of the two national anthems and hoisting of the flags of the two countries, the introduction of the Philippine delegation to the Holy Father by the President of the Philippines and the introduction of the papal delegation by the Holy Father to President P-Noy.

The members of Pangkat Kawayan will fill the air with Filipino music while the Holy Father and President proceed to the Reception Hall for the signing of the Official Guest book.  They will proceed to the Music Room for the official courtesy call and viewing of gifts.

The immediate members of the President’s family are also expected to be introduced to the Holy Father and greet him.

Pope Francis and President Aquino will both deliver their remarks in the Ceremonial Hall for the general audience with Senior Government officials and members of the diplomatic corps and members of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Then the Holy Father will take his leave and board the vehicle going to the Manila Cathedral where he will meet with the bishops, clergy, and religious of the Philippines. (Report by Fr. Joselito Jopson)

Gentle Reminders for the Papal Visit 2015

Press statement for the Encounter of Pope Francis with the Youth at UST

Official statement of Paranaque Bishop Jess Mercado on the Papal Visit 2015

Official statement of Bishop Jess on behalf of the people of Paranaque and the rest of the Philippines in welcoming the Holy Father

Statement for the media

Dear friends,

I cannot be present with you this morning because we priests of the Diocese of Parañaque are offering a special Mass for our brother priests and esteemed lay leaders who have passed away in 2014. They have spent their lives for God and for country. We owe them our thanks and our prayers. We are also having our Advent recollection in preparation for the 2015 Year of the Poor. Our theme is “Pamayanan ng mga abá, bayang pinagpala”.

Nevertheless, i am happy to send this greeting to you. We shall be welcoming the Holy Father at dusk on January 15next year. Despite the gathering darkness, we plan to brighten the night with the warmth of our love. Pope Francis, as the successor of St. Peter and Vicar of Christ, speaks not only for Jesus, but especially in behalf of the poor. When he disembarks from the plane, 1200 young men and women will greet him with vibrant music and dance. Two children will offer him flowers. They will be orphans who have come to know God as our Father through the love and care of selfless men and women.

We are still working on other details. We shall share them with you so that you can share our excitement, because Pope Francis has brought us together: man and women of faith, men and women of government. We thank God for the good will with which we work together. We are confident that, after the Pope’s plane has left on January 19, after the red carpet has been rolled up, after the last light bulb has been switched off, we shall sleep soundly with the hope that Filipinos can forge a nation of mercy and compassion through a life of integrity: personal integrity, integrity in the family, integrity in work and in politics, integrity in communities of faith, promoting the integrity of creation.

God bless you all!

+ Jesse E. Mercado

Chairman, Arrival-Departure Committee

Press Briefing, Dec. 2, 2014