MANILA, Philippines — Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on Thursday led thousands of devotees of the Black Nazarene in praying for peace in the Middle East due to escalating conflict in the region after the assassination of a top Iranian general.
“In our gathering full of prayers and thanks, let us remember that in some parts of the world, there is a threat of danger and violence. Hopefully this will not lead to war, to hostility,” Tagle said in his homily during the midnight Mass for the Feast of the Black Nazarene held at the Quirino Grandstand.
“Let us pray for the safety of our fellowmen in the Middle East, dissipate the desire to destroy one’s neighbor, dissipate the desire to take vengeance,” he added.
Tagle also asked the faithful to pray for Filipinos in the conflict-torn area and for their worried families in the Philippines. He then asked the crowd to observe a moment of silence.
Tension between the United States and Iran escalated after an airstrike in Iraq killed Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani last week. On Wednesday, Iran retaliated by launching over a dozen ballistic missiles on Iraqi bases housing American troops.
Reflecting on the theme of this year’s “traslacion,” Tagle asked the devotees to imitate the mission of Jesus Christ.
The theme was “Iba’t ibang kaloob, iisang debosyon, tungo sa iisang misyon (Different gifts, one devotion, toward one mission).”
“Let us imitate Christ’s mission… We should not allow ourselves to be the cause of harm and destruction of our fellowmen. A real devotee of Jesus is the way of life and salvation,” he said.
“Christ’s mission was to give the world eternal life…, not destruction but life, not punishment but salvation. That is his mission and he stood up for it,” Tagle said.
“Devotion leads to mission. Express your devotion using your different God-given gifts toward that mission. Let us ask for that real devotion so we may be one in Christ’s mission,” he added.
The mass was seen as Tagle’s last as Manila archbishop, a post he has held for eight years.
“We will miss Cardinal Chito,” said Msgr. Hernando Coronel, Quiapo Church rector, referring to Tagle by his nickname.
Tagle was recently appointed by Pope Francis as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Propaganda Fide), a powerful Vatican office overseeing the church’s vast mission territories. He is expected to be installed as prefect of the dicastery early this year.
Coronel honored Tagle by saying that he had served as the light and direction during previous celebrations of the Feast of the Black Nazarene.
“He’s our light … he gave us direction … we will miss him. But Pope Francis gave him a very important task of spreading the Catholic faith,” Coronel said.
“We lift you up, His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Cardinal Chito, to the kindness and goodness of Our Father Jesus Nazareno,” he added.