From his arrival from Sri Lanka, the Recoletos were in the crowd to welcome him. “It was a heartwarming experience” expressed Fr. Albert Pellazar, OAR who waited two hours along Quirino Avenue leading to the Nunciature. People from all walk of life, gathered with enthusiasm to welcome the Pope. Even the little children were all eager to have a glimpse with their “Lolo Kiko.” Yhey were chanting: “Pope Francis, We love you!”
On his visit to the Malacanan Palace, students and parishioners of San Sebastian College (Manila) and of the Basilica acted as ground marshals guarding the pathway of the Pope. Countless Filipinos were all eager to see the Pope. Our students waved Recoleto-colored banners of red & yellow. The contingent of marshals were led by Fr. Cristopher Maspara, OAR (SSC-R President), Fr. James Bumangabang, OAR (Parish Priest) and Fr. Joy Zabala, OAR.
Our seminary formators of St. Joseph College Seminary in Palawan brought along with them 30 seminarians to participate in the Papal Itinerary; accompanied by Fr. Randy Castillo, OAR, Fr. Anthony Irineo, OAR, Fr. Gaspar, OAR and diocesan formators.
On the 16th of January, the Pope celebrated a Mass with the bishops, priests, religious and seminarians; two of our deacons (Rev. Raffy Pecson, OAR & Rev. Jerik Troy Siozon, OAR) were tapped as deacon-servers during the Eucharistic celebration. It was also an occasion were our elderly Augustinian Recollect sisters received personal blessing and had close encounter with Pope Francis. This is the message of Pope Francis in his homily,”For us priests and consecrated persons, conversion to the newness of the Gospel entails a daily encounter with the Lord in prayer. The saints teach us that this is the source of all apostolic zeal! For religious, living the newness of the Gospel also means finding ever anew in community life and community apostolates the incentive for an ever closer union with the Lord in perfect charity. For all of us, it means living lives that reflect the poverty of Christ, whose entire life was focused on doing the will of the Father and serving others. The great danger to this, of course, is a certain materialism which can creep into our lives and compromise the witness we offer. Only by becoming poor ourselves, by stripping away our complacency, will we be able to identify with the least of our brothers and sisters. We will see things in a new light and thus respond with honesty and integrity to the challenge of proclaiming the radicalism of the Gospel in a society which has grown comfortable with social exclusion, polarization and scandalous inequality.” The Pope was also in the Mall of Asia Arena in the evening to have a special day with the Families; Fr. Boyax Jaranilla, OAR attended the event.
The special purpose of the Pope’s visit is to be with the Typhoon victims in Tacloban, he made a quick visit to the typhoon ravaged island on January 17. It was a moving experience both for the Pope and the people, he said in his message ” I have come to tell you that Jesus is Lord. And he never lets us down. Father – you might say to me – I was let down because I have lost so many things, my house, my livelihood. It’s true if you say that and I respect those sentiments. But Jesus is there, nailed to the cross, and from there he does not let us down. He was consecrated as Lord on that throne and there he experienced all the calamities that we experience. Jesus is Lord. And the Lord from the cross is there for you. In everything the same as us. That is why we have a Lord who cries with us and walks with us in the most difficult moments of life.” Fr. Renie Villalino, OAR was able to concelebrate during the Papal Mass in Tacloban.
The culminating activities of the Pope’s visit will be on January 18, 2014 at the Pontifical University of Sto. Tomas in Manila and the Final Mass in Luneta. The gathering at the Dominican-run University of Sto. Tomas will have two celebrations gathering of the youth and the meeting with religious leaders from the different religions and denominations. Fr. Emeterio Buñao, OAR, Fr. Emilio Jaruda, OAR, Fr. Albert Pellazar, OAR, Fr. Cristituto Palomar, OAR among others will be in the UST gathering along with 40 contingent from San Sebastian College – Recoletos de Cavite.