In a few hours, Pope Francis ends his historic visit of the Philippines that made headlines around the world and showed the power of the Catholic faithful. Don’t judge, but I just stayed at home, watching the event unfurl vicariously on TV and social media. Information overload was certainly rife as it seems everybody out there wanted to be on the scene.
Here are my favorite photos from the Papal visit as gleaned from the timeline of my friends:
The Manila Hotel rooftop was one of the best places in the city to take in all the action of the crowd below. Tech editor Art Samaniego uploaded this shot, and the media estimated a whopping 6 million people attended Pope Francis’ mass at the Quirino Grandstand (whew!)
Young girl Tricia Farnacio‘s selfie with the Pope made the internet rounds. Tricia is suffering from kidney disease and her photo with the Pope is heartwarming as it shows him at his most charming, lively self…
If he wasn’t comforting & blessing the sick, the Pope was also kissing & holding babies. Here is one poignant shot from the Facebook page of BBC News anchor Rico Hizon. Until the passage of the Reproductive Health law, the Catholic Church prohibited the 76 million or so Filipino Catholics from practicing contraception. Go figure.
It’s not Pinoy if it’s not funny. During their briefings before the arrival of the Pope, Manila’s traffic enforcers were told to wear adult diapers just in case it was impossible to answer the call of nature in the pursuit of their duty to rein in the large crowds. We don’t know if these are real enforcers or men just making a parody of the order. lol. (Photo via Tony Ahn/ wheninmanila.com)
Filipino cartoonist DengCoy Miel‘s piece which appeared in the New York Times is spot on. A lot of them crocodiles were on the front rows listening to the Pope 🙂
From the Varsitarian FB page is this photo of His Holiness touring the campus of our alma mater, the University of Santo Tomas. People might ask: why UST? Because it is Asia’s only Pontifical University, receiving direct guidance from the Vatican.
And since this country likes to people watch as well, the cute-looking guy who sang the Responsorial Psalm in the mass at the Manila Cathedral wasn’t spared. His name’s Kenneth Rey Parsad, a theology student from UST. Because he became an internet star overnight, I traced some of his photos on Facebook. Pogi nga. How can this guy become a priest now? 🙂
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