TABLE FOR THE CHOSEN. A simple unadorned table made of narra wood inside the Archbishop’s Residence in Palo town in Leyte will be the silent witness as Pope Francis breaks bread this Saturday with 30 victims of supertyphoon Yolanda and Bohol earthquake. (DANNY PETILLA)
“I am very ready.”
This was the remark of 53-year-old resident of earthquake survivor from Sagbayan town, Bohol, while counting the remaining hours before her lunch date with Pope Francistomorrow (Saturday).
Niza Flores bought a new pair of white blouse and brown skirt in preparation for what she considered an event of a lifetime.
“It’s really been my dream to see a pope in person. And this dream is about to be realized,” she told Cebu Daily News in Cebuano.
Flores, along with four other survivors of the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that hit Bohol and Cebu on Oct. 15, 2013, arrived in Palo town in Leyte yesterday.
They will join 25 survivors of supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan) from Leyte, Borongan, Samar and Calbayog, Samar.
On her way to the Archbishop’s Residence in Palo yesterday, Flores brought at least 30 rosaries which she will bring during the lunch with Pope Francis.
“I plan to have these rosaries blessed by Pope Francis before I will distribute them to my relatives and close friends when I go home,” she said beaming.
While it is a dream come true to see and have lunch with the pope, Flores said the price that she had to pay for it wasn’t easy.
“I lost my 12-year-old son (to the earthquake). It’s so painful even until now. My son seemed to be the bridge so I can fulfill my dream of seeing a pope. Amid all that happened in my life, I trust in God. If it is His will, then let it be,” she said.
Flores, whose family owns a small hardware in Bohol, said Pope Francis’ presence will really console her as well as the other victims of calamities.
Humbled
“I thank Pope Francis for coming over. Who am I to meet Him?,” she said.
“Through the pope, the Lord brought joy to me and my family amid the sufferings we undergo,” said Flores who has seven remaining children aged 29, 27, 26, 24, 22, 20, and 16.
Her youngest son Geevie was inside an Internet cafe when the 7.2-magnitude Bohol quake struck. Geevie died along with four others.
Fr. Chris Arthur Militante, information and social communications officer of the Archdiocese of Palo, said they are on the final stretch of preparations for the coming of Pope Francis in Leyte tomorrow.
He said there are no particular dress code for the 30 survivors who will dine with the Holy Father at the Archbishop’s Residence.
“There are no particular instructions. Even the color, they are free to choose as long as what they will wear will be modest,” Militante said.
Pope Francis is set to arrive at the Daniel Romualdez Airport in Tacloban City at 9:30 a.m. Tomorrow. He will preside over an open-air Mass and then proceed to the Archbishop’s Residence in Palo to have lunch with 30 survivors of calamities. This will be followed by the blessing of the Pope Francis Center for the Poor at 3 p.m..
The Holy Father will later proceed to the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral to meet and address the clergy, men and women of different religious communities, and seminarians. He will also pray over the mass grave located in the cathedral compound where about 150 dead bodies were buried.
The Philippine National Police and members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) conducted a dry run of the papal motorcade from the Tacloban City airport to the Archbishop’s Residence in Palo and the archdiocese’s cathedral yesterday.
According to Fr. Militante, the papal motorcade from the airport to the Archbishop’s Residence will last for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Residents and some establishments have placed streamers to welcome the pope along the route of the papal motorcade.
Some of the streamers read: “Godspeed Pope Francis.” “Welcome to Tacloban City.” “We love you.”
Huge flags of the Philippines and the Vatican were also placed side by side with each other along roads in Palo and Tacloban City,.
Some residents put up some bleachers within their house compound to have a better view of the Holy Father during the motorcade.
“It’s basically all systems go for the coming of the Holy Father to Leyte. There are just finishing touches being done at the airport, the cathedral, and at the Archbishop’s Residence. We’re also finalizing the sound system and the LED screens (to be installed at the airport),” Fr. Militante said.
“So far, there are no changes in his itinerary in Leyte. What was being announced shall proceed,” he added.
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