Pope Francis center offers refuge to evacuees

Pope Francis prays in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary, on the occasion of the Immaculate Conception feast, in Rome, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014. AP

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte – A facility named after Pope Francis was opened to the people closest to his heart – the poor – during the onslaught of Typhoon Ruby last Saturday. And the Pontiff was pleased.

Fr. Al Chris Militante, information and social communications officer of the Palo Archdiocese, said they received word from the Vatican that the Pope was happy that Pope Francis Center for the Poor served as refuge for 200 people who left their homes in Buri and Arado villages on Saturday morning for fear river nearby might overflow due the heavy rains.

They sought shelter at the Pope Francis Center for the Poor in Arado and were welcomed by Palo Archbishop John Du.

Militante said the evacuees were provided food by Du and left the center Sunday afternoon after Ruby passed.

The facility, composed of five buildings, is located within the eight-hectare compound of the Archbishop’s Palace.

It was intended for the orphans and the elderly, ideally for those who lost their loved ones during the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda in the province.

The funds used in the construction of the P60-million facility came from the Cor Unum, considered the Caritas of the Vatican.

The Pope Francis Center for the Poor will be blessed by the Pontiff himself when he goes to Palo, the seat of Catholicism in Eastern Visayas, on Jan. 17.

Despite Ruby, Militante assured the public that the Pope’s visit to Palo and Tacloban City would proceed as planned.

He said preparations by the different committees were in full swing.

Francis is to visit the Philippines from January 15 to 19 and is scheduled to arrive in Leyte on January 17. He will say Mass at the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport and share a meal with survivors of Yolanda and last year’s killer quake that devastated Bohol and parts of Cebu.

After the Mass, the Pontiff will motor to the adjacent town of Palo where he will eat lunch with 30 disaster survivors and bless the center named after him.

Fr. Mark Ivo Velasquez, executive secretary of the liturgy committee, said it was not the first time that a Pope visited the country after a typhoon.

In 1995, the country was still reeling from the devastation caused by a strong typhoon, Ruping, when then Pope John Paul II, now declared a saint, visited the Philippines.

In 1970, Pope Paul IV visited the country shortly after it was hit by a typhoon.

In both papal visits, the turnout was beyond expectation, said Velasquez.

“The disasters did not dampen the spirit of the faithful as the turnout was massive,” Velasquez said, adding he was expecting the same for Pope Francis’ visit.