Pope Francis gets fiesta welcome at Luneta
January 18, 2015 2:55pm
Chants of "Papa Francisco," a Sinulog dance, and the ringing of church bells highlighted a fiesta welcome for Pope Francis when he arrived at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta in Manila Sunday afternoon.

The Pope arrived at the Luneta aboard a jeepney-themed Popemobile to the cheers of Filipinos, many of whom have been waiting in the area since Saturday.

Some in the crowd raised images of the Santo Niño (Christ Child) as the papal convoy passed by them.

For his part, the pope blessed children and babies in the crowd as his Popemobile passed them.

Sunday's fiesta welcome was in response to the call of Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas for a fiesta welcome for the Pope during the concluding Mass.

Villegas had also encouraged the faithful to bring their Santo Niño images to welcome the Pope. Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News

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