Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle once again thanked Pope Francis for his apostolic visit, saying the entire Filipino people will pray for him.
 

“All of us want to say again and again, all of us want to say, maraming salamat, Santo Padre,” Tagle said, before the final blessing during the concluding Mass of Pope Francis’ five day apostolic and state visit held at the Quirino Grandstand. 

 

“In the name of the people in government, military, security, social communications, parishes and many benefactors...the street children, the orphans, the widows, the homeless, the informal settlers, the laborers, the fathers, the fisherfolk, the sick, the abandoned, the elderly people, the families of missing persons, the victims of discrimination, violence, abuse, and human trafficking, the OFWs and families, the survivors of natural calamities, the non-Christian Catholics, the followers of non-Christians religions, the promoters of peace especially in Mindanao, thank you,” Tagle added. 

 

Tagle referenced Pope Francis’ practice of asking for prayers, and said that more than the entire Filipino people, Jesus, too, prays for the pontiff.

 

“You often end your meetings and encounters, by saying, ‘I ask you to pray for me.’ We, Filipinos, will pray for you. But we also want to assure you, to remind you, that Jesus, Jesus prays for you. Jesus himself said to Peter, ‘I have prayed for you, Peter, that your own faith will not fail.’ Your Holiness, you are blessed, Jesus prays for you,” Tagle said. 

 

“How blessed you are, Jesus prays for you, and we, your beloved Filipinos, unite ourselves with Jesus in praying for you, to the Father,” Tagle added.

In the same message, the cardinal vowed to put Pope Francis’ words to action, by putting to life the pontiff’s preachings to minister to the poor and the afflicted.

 

“Tomorrow you will go, every Filipino wants to go with you. Every Filipino wants to go with you, not to Rome, but to the peripheries, we want to go with you, to the shanties, to the prison cell, hospitals, world of politics, finance, arts, the sciences, culture, education and social communication,” he said. 

 

“We will go to those worlds with you to bring the light of Christ. Jesus is the center of your pastoral visit and the cornerstone of the church. We will go with you where light of church is needed. Even in Rome, even in Sta Marta, remember the Filipino people are with you in spreading the light of Jesus,” Tagle added.

 

In his homily, Pope Francis emphasized the special role of the Philippines in evangelization and spreading Catholicism in Asia.

The Pope is scheduled to depart for Rome at 10 a.m. Monday at Villamor Air Base. — Patricia Denise Chiu/RSJ, GMA News