WELL, in a way, that was what Aling Elena—a gregarious lady I met at the corner of Quirino and Taft Avenues—said she was going to do while Pope Francis was in town. She would be following him at all his events—“Sa Tacloban lang ako hindi pupunta…mahal ang pamasahe eh,” she said, giggling.
I met her on the day Pope Francis arrived in Manila, and as everyone on the corner and the entire length of Quirino Avenue were doing, we were waiting to get a glimpse of His Holiness. With Aling Elena were her adult kids and their respective spouses, as well as her one and only grandson, whom she said was primarily the reason she would be at most of the papal events, or at least along the routes to the event venues. “Bukas sa Manila Cathedral naman ako,” she added.
Indeed, the five-day holiday put in place for the papal visit, which I initially opposed because it was coming at the heels of a two-week Christmas holiday, eventually made sense to me, as I went around ‘stalking’ the pope, as well. Those five days helped renew our faith as Catholics, and restored and strengthened our bonds within our own families. Along the papal motorcade’s route, families came out in full force, even taking their small babies with them, just on the off-chance Pope Francis would be able to see them and bless them.
I was especially touched with what the Philippine National Police and Metro Manila Development Authority personnel did along the motorcade routes. Although they were under strict orders to push back the crowds and minimize security risks for our very important visitor, a number of them even offered to take the kids from their families, carried them over the barricades, and plunked them down just right behind the security line, just so that the kids would have a better view of the pope.
I offered Aling Elena some crackers that I had tucked into my bag to stave off hunger while waiting for the pope to motor to the Apostolic Nunciature, his official Manila residence, but she refused ever so politely with a thank you, adding she had already eaten. “Ewan ko nga kung sino nagbigay, pero nakakain na ako,” she said, laughing. People were willing to share their meager baon and drink with strangers in the crowd while waiting to see the pope—an impressive show of communion among Filipinos.
At the Mall of Asia Arena last Saturday, Pope Francis met with families from all walks of life—many of them nominated by their bishops and parishes, were members of the Catholic lay religious groups, or were brought in by Catholic charities. Among those in the audience were lawyer Macel Fernandez Estavillo, her husband Karlo, and their two children Javea and Maria.
“We all woke up with joy and excitement in our hearts—we were going to see the pope! My kids had a full day at school, and I went to school to read for my younger daughter. We got them both early and rushed home in excitement and happiness,” she said. “We were in a convoy that left Makati at 2 pm. All roads were blocked and we were so worried the gates would close! We ran the last mile, worried that our IDs which had the tickets stuck to them would fall, and that our kids, aged 5 and 8, would not be able to keep up with the pace. But they did! We made it on the dot, at 3:30 pm right before the doors closed. There was no line at that time, and we were among the last people who got in.”
Macel, who many may still remember as the 1997 bar topnotcher, and the youngest member of the Estrada Cabinet as chief of the Presidential Management Staff, is currently the head for legal and regulatory affairs of RCBC. Husband Karlo, a lawyer as well, is general manager of San Miguel Properties.
“Our children, especially the older one, understood what it meant to see the pope. We told them that he was the leader of the Catholic Church and that he was good and loved the poor, children, and the sick. We shared with them what we had been reading over the past two years, and days before the event, they watched a documentary on his life, so they knew him and loved him. They were shouting, ‘We love you Pope Francis!’ at the Arena, though maybe their small voices were not heard because of the distance and crowds.”
Macel said it meant so much for her and her family to see Pope Francis. “He is an inspiration and a guide to us, and we have been following his teachings ever since he assumed the papacy. We love him for his humanity, humility, kindness, and openness of heart. We also wanted to see him because we came with the prayers and intentions of family and friends who could not be there.” What touched her most, among all the things Pope Francis said during the encounter at the Arena, was: “As a family, you must always continue dreaming together, because your shared dreams are the foundation of family life; you must make time to rest because in rest, you will discern God’s will through prayer; and pray to the sleeping Saint Joseph, to whom God spoke often in his sleep—God who will solve, in his own time, all our problems. I think every home should have a statue of the sleeping Saint Joseph.”
She stressed that “Pope Francis is such an inspiration to do something more to help the poor, and to make a difference in their lives. I hope our family can heed his call to serve.”
I was particularly moved by the pope’s surprise visit to the street children being cared for by the Tulay ng Kabataan Foundation in Intramuros. He knew that in lending his presence to the foundation, it would drive home the message that children shouldn’t be neglected and thrown to the streets like refuse. Many of the children staying at the foundation came from broken homes, and it was important for Pope Francis to impress on them, young as they were, that Jesus loved them. Similarly, in Tacloban, he also got down from his popemobile in an unscheduled stop at a shanty in an area still trying to recover from the devastation wrought by Supertyphoon Yolanda in late 2013. The real surprise in the visit was that he had kissed the child of an unmarried couple. Said Narciso Ay-ay, the father, it was significant that the pope gave them his blessing just the same, despite their flaws in the eyes of the Catholic Church.
We may not all be in agreement with the teachings of the Catholic Church and the pronouncements from the Vatican, some of which seem to ignore the realities of actual family life, but I am almost certain that most of us have been inspired by the pope’s recent visit. Each smile, each hug, and his words of comfort whispered into the ears of the afflicted have been magnified by our TV sets 100 times over, and have thus become powerful images of consolation and hope for our people.
During the papal visit, we showed our capacity for kindness and compassion to our fellowmen. We were patient, cooperative, disciplined, and eager to hear the word of God. The real test for us comes now that pope has left. As Cardinal Chito Tagle said at the end of the Mass, led by His Holiness at the Quirino Grandstand that rainy Sunday, let us all take Pope Francis’s words and actions to heart and “bring the light of Jesus Christ” to wherever it is needed.
Image credits: Alysa Salen, (Photo courtesy Estavillo family)