With the success of Pope Francis' five-day stay in the country, the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday welcomed the possibility that the well-loved pontiff would return to the Philippines early next year.

 

“Nakita po natin ngayon na kakayanin natin. Naging maayos at mapayapa ang kanyang pagbisita, ang lahat ng mga paghahanda natin security-wise ay nasunod...So, kung babalik po siya next year ay tutularan lang po natin ang mga ginawa nating paghahanda ngayon,” PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina said in a phone patch interview with GMA Radio DZBB.

 

“Pero siyempre iaangkop natin yung paghahanda sa kung ano yung mga magiging activities niya,” Espina was quick to add.

 

In a press conference Sunday night, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle disclosed that an invitation has already been given to Pope Francis for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Cebu in January next year.

 

Tagle, however, said there was no answer from the Pope yet regarding the invitation.

 

“Siguro gusto muna niya ay umuwi sa Roma at doon pag-isipan,” Tagle said in an separate interview with DZBB.

 

The Eucharistic Congress is a gathering of clergies and laymen worldwide to celebrate the Catholic faith of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Congress was last held in Dublin, Ireland in 2012.

 

In another phone interview with DZBB, Jesuit priest Fr. Xavier Alpasa said there is indeed a possibility that Pope Francis will attend the Eucharistic Congress.

 

“May possibility. Kasi yung International Eucharistic Congress sa Cebu, may indication na pupunta siya dun pero bigla ngang tumama itong si Yolanda. So, ipagdasal natin na sana nga makabalik siya,” Alpasa said.

 

On November 8, 2013, Supertyphoon Yolanda, the strongest typhoon in history to make a landfall, ripped through the Visayas region leaving more than 6,000 people dead.

 

On Saturday, Pope Francis reached out to the victims of Yolanda as well as the 7.2-magniture quake that hit Bohol also in 2013, through a very heartfelt homily during a Mass he celebrated in Tacloban.

 

Pope Francis left the country Monday morning on board a Philippine Airlines plane to the Vatican. —NB, GMA News