TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte—The theme song of Pope Francis’s visit, “Mercy and Compassion,” will be accompanied by the song “Mercy,” composed by Cherrie Anderson, the Tacloban-born frontwoman of British Electropop band Ooberfuse.
Anderson wrote “Mercy,” an anthem of hope for Supertyphoon Yolanda survivors. The song was nominated as one of three songs that convey the message behind Pope Francis’s state and pastoral visit.
“I vividly remember the night [Supertyphoon] Yolanda hit. I sat up all night frantically ringing members of my family to make sure they were OK. I could not contact my family directly for days and relied exclusively on media reports for news,” Anderson shared.
She expressed her gratitude for the pope’s decision to visit the place she was born, which is also her mother’s hometown.
“Twelve months later, the world’s media [have focused] on other things, but the lives of ordinary Filipinos still bear the scars and emotional wounds of Yolanda.
It is a measure of Pope Francis’s deep humanity and real concern for the poorest of the poor that he has chosen to offer direct consolation by visiting the thousands of families devastated by the worst typhoon ever to hit the Philippines,” she said.
Anderson’s fellow band member, Hal St. John, added: “We read the news every day, but often failed to recognize the lasting and devastating human impact a single event like that typhoon caused. Its trail of destruction will take years and possibly lifetimes to put right.”
“Pope Francis’s visit to the victims and their families will help keep the plight of those who have lost everything, like members of Cherrie’s family, in the public eye. ‘Mercy’ tries to emphasize that in spite of the worst tragedies, God’s eternal mercy and compassion will sustain us through the darkest hour,” St. John said.
Pope Francis will be in the Philippines from January 15 to 19, 2015. He will arrive in Manila on January 15 and fly to Tacloban on January 17, where he will have a Mass at the Tacloban airport. Afterward, he will have lunch with survivors of natural calamity and the poor at the residence of the archbishop of Palo in Leyte. Fr. Chris Militante, Palo Archdiocese’s information officer said, “The archdiocese will carry three theme songs for the papal visit, including singer Jaime Rivera’s ‘We Are All God’s Children,’ the official theme song of Pope Francis’s visit to the Philippines from January 15 to 19 next year.”
“‘Mercy’ by British band Ooberfuse, who also performed the official theme song of World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last year, was composed by the band’s vocalist Cherrie Anderson, whose mother is from Tacloban City, specifically for Yolanda survivors.” A video of “Mercy” is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKVkQ82LJMQ