Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos lined the streets of Manila this morning to catch a final glimpse of the Pope Francis as he travelled to the airport to fly home from a week-long trip to Asia which culminated in a Mass that drew more than 6 million people.
The crowd in Manila’s Luneta Park yesterday, which organisers said was between 6 and 7 million, was the largest crowd ever for a papal event.
At a press conference after the Pope’s departure, the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Luis Tagle said Francis had “challenged” all Filipinos to face problems such as inequality in the country.
Cardinal Tagle also said Francis challenged people to not blindly accept every novelty. “I think the Holy Father is also inviting us to be discerning and to be critical,” he said. “How do we immerse ourselves in the world of God, in prayer, in the teachings of the Church, and with that deep resource how do you address the changes in the world?”
Cardinal Tagle said the Pope had told him privately that one solid foundation is popular religiosity. “He said it is the simple faith that makes people survive the changes in society,” the cardinal said.
The day before, an estimated 6 million people braved steady rain to hear Pope Francis’ final Mass in the Philippines on Sunday, filling Manila’s main park and the streets around it.
Francis entered Manila’s Rizal Park in a popemobile based on a “jeepney”, a modified jeep used for public transport in the Philippines.
He wore the plastic yellow rain poncho handed out those who had come to hear him speak in typhoon-hit Tacloban on Saturday.
Organisers initially estimated 3 million people had turned out, but later in the day officials told the Holy See spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi that attendance had reached between 6 and 7 million, surpassing the 5 million who came to see John Paul II there in 1995. As a precaution the Government had warned the elderly, pregnant women and children against coming to the event.
Nonetheless the crowds spread out across the 148 acres of parkland and boulevards around it, cheering as Francis drove by.
In his homily he reiterated main themes of his week-long visit to Asia: a condemnation of corruption, which robs the poor, a warning against damaging the environment, and a message of hope after the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan.
He also warned Filipinos of such temptations as “ephemeral pleasures, superficial pastimes. And so we squander our God-given gifts by tinkering with gadgets; we squander our money on gambling and drink; we turn in on ourselves.”
He told the crowd that Filipinos, an estimated 10 million of whom work as migrant workers around the globe, “are called to be outstanding missionaries of the faith in Asia”.
Earlier in the day, Francis addressed an estimated 200,000 people gathered on the sports field of Manila’s Catholic University of Santo Tomas, Asia’s biggest Catholic university.
There he articulated a clear faith imperative for care of creation, and came close to tears hearing two former street children speak of their lives before their rescue.
Twelve-year-old Glyzelle Palomar wept as she asked Francis why children suffer so much. She spoke of children who are abandoned by their parents and end up on the streets using drugs or in prostitution, but could not get through her remarks.
Visibly moved, Francis put aside his prepared remarks to respond to her. He said he had no answer. “Only when we are able to cry are we able to come close to responding to your question,” he said. “Those on the margins cry. Those who have fallen by the wayside cry. Those who are discarded cry,” he said. “But those who are living a life that is more or less without need, we don’t know how to cry.” And he added: “There are some realities that you can only see through eyes that have been cleansed by tears.”
In his prepared remarks Francis urged young people to have integrity and to care for the environment. “Respect for the environment means more than simply using cleaner products or recycling what we use … We need to see, with the eyes of faith, the beauty of God’s saving plan, the link between the natural environment and the dignity of the human person … As stewards of God’s creation, we are called to make the earth a beautiful garden for the human family. When we destroy our forests, ravage our soil and pollute our seas, we betray that noble calling.”
Photos: CNS
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