By all accounts, it can be safely said that the recent Papal visit of Pope Francis with the theme “Mercy and Compassion” was a success, a roaring success at that. A product of two equations coming together: Pope Francis’s innate charm and charisma and the deeply-rooted sense of faith that Filipinos have, in this case the Catholic faith where majority of the population belongs to. Even if you are not a Catholic, you cannot help but be smitten by the personal touch the Pope has especially in interacting with the people he has met throughout his 5-day visit. With the visit now part of history, let us take a look…
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A Pope in Manila
Other than a visit of a US President, no official visit gets Manila, and the country as whole, all abuzz than a visit here of the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the person we all know as the pope. Something that should be a no-brainer given the country’s predominantly Catholic population. For Filipino Catholics, a papal visit is seen as an honor that the pope has taken time to visit them here, being a bastion of Catholicism in Asia and a chance for them to receive his blessings to them and to the country. On January 15 this year, Manila will be graced by such visit with the arrival of the current leader of the Roman…