Pope Francis has finally arrived in the Philippines, the start of what is expected to be an unprecedented “national fiesta”.
He is called many names: the people’s pope, rock star pope, a radical pope, pope of surprises. There’s no question about his immense popularity.
Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on Dec. 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1998, he became archbishop of Buenos Aires and was appointed Cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001.
Elected by the conclave to replace resigned Pope Benedict XVI on March 13, 2013, Pope Francis is also a pope of many firsts. He is the first pope from the Society of Jesus and the first non-European pope. By some accounts, he was also the first pope to have handled a parish in the slums.
Public adulation is understandable. Pope Francis had lived the life of a normal person, working as a chemist, and even considered studying medicine, before he took vows as a priest at the age of 21. He does away with trappings of power and wealth. People, especially the poor, can easily relate to him.
The poor and destitute petition Pope Francis to help them out of their rut. And often, he goes out of his way to show common people that he cares.
With his visit, Filipinos are fixated with the persona of Pope Francis. Several times, through leaders of the Church, he has reminded people that the focus of his visit should be on Jesus Christ and not himself.
Let’s see in the next four days how the pope deflects the attention from himself to heaven.
He comes with a mission to deliver a clear message, that the Church is a church of the poor, one that lives mercy and compassion.
The ability to distinguish the persona of the charismatic Pope Francis from his message would be a test of spiritual maturity for Filipinos.
With the first glimpse of enthusiastic crowds that had waited for hours and cheered when his Popemobile passed by in Manila, we already see his effect as a strong uniting force in multi-faith and multi-cultural Philippines.
Welcome, Papa Francis!