Pope Watch: Children too short to see Pope left in tears

Youth performers twirl their umbrellas during rehearsals for the arrival of Pope Francis Thursday, Jan.15, 2015 at suburban Pasay city south of Manila, Philippines. AP PHOTO/BULLIT MARQUEZ

Pope Francis has landed in the Philippines, home to Asia’s largest Catholic population, following a visit to Sri Lanka. Here are some glimpses of his trip as it unfolded:

Tears of disappointment

Some members of a youth dance group were left crying after performing to welcome the pope.

Eight-year-old Gwen Bernardino said she was so disappointed that they could not see Francis, because they were behind taller dancers when he passed by.

“We were so happy earlier because we thought he would come near us, but that did not happen,” she said, her voice quavering as she wiped her tears. “We kept on shouting but he was already gone. I was hoping he could kiss me, and I could hug him even just for a second.”

She was among 1,200 young people from Catholic schools and parishes who danced at the arrival ceremony.

“My message to the pope is I love him very much even if I did not get the chance to see him in person,” she said.—Teresa Cerojano
Traditional Sri Lanka, “different” Philippines

Barely two hours after arriving from Sri Lanka, Francis already sensed something different in Manila, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

In Sri Lanka, the pope was welcomed with traditional dances to the tune of traditional music played with traditional instruments. There were elephants, too.

“But here, we have had thousands of young people, doing also dances, but in a different way,” Lombardi told reporters with a laugh. The mostly teenage performers wore white T-shirts at a Philippine air base and danced to pop music.

“We felt immediately that the situation, the cultural situation and the spiritual situation, is different,” Lombardi said. He also said Colombo is a large city, but Manila is a “megalopolis” of more than 10 million people.

“We feel immediately a different situation in the sense that I think there are new aspects of this trip,” he said without elaborating. The pope’s first encounter “with these millions of people gives us an idea of what will be the importance of the presence of the pope for the Filipino people these days.”—Oliver Teves
The children who gave him flowers

Two children from a shelter, 10-year-old Mark Angelo Balberos and 9-year-old Lanie Ortillo, were chosen to present flowers to the pope at his arrival ceremony at the airport. He hugged and kissed them.

“I told him bienvenido (welcome), and he said yes, bienvenido,” Lanie said. She added, “While I was hugging him I prayed that he could help more children, not only the two of us.”—Teresa Cerojano
Unscripted moment

On the tarmac in Manila, as the papal aircraft approached, the choreography was formidable. Flags waved in unison. Huge groups of faithful sang along to a pop song written just for Pope Francis’ visit. Everything was scripted just so.

Except for the hat. The pope’s hat.

Seconds after Pope Francis appeared at the top of the Sri Lankan jet’s steps, as the crowd noise swelled, a gust of wind abruptly kicked up and blew away his papal skullcap, known as a zuchetta or a calotte. The pontiff grabbed at his hat—a futile effort, since it was already long airborne—then smiled and descended the steps into the Philippines, heading toward the TV camera, hatless.

Amid an ocean of national planning aimed at global audiences, it was a genuine, unexpected moment.—Ted Anthony
Appeals for the poor

Social activists in Manila held ecumenical prayers for the poor, urging Francis to be a champion of downtrodden Filipinos.

They set up a makeshift altar in front of a statue of working-man national hero Andres Bonifacio. A large banner in the background read: “Welcome Pope Francis! Hear the cry of the poor and oppressed. Stand with us for justice and peace.”

Roman Catholic priest the Rev. Ben Alforque said poor Filipinos include landless peasants, underpaid workers, homeless children, indigenous tribes and political prisoners.

“The church of the poor is in the heart of Pope Francis,” he said.

Members of a youth group later unveiled a large banner from a bridge with the image of Pope Francis shoulder to shoulder with a farm laborer, a worker, a youth, student and a member of an indigenous community.

Einstein Recedes, spokesman for the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines, said the image shows the pope in solidarity with the poor and “doesn’t gloss over the plight of the Filipino people.”—Oliver Teves
Getting ready to welcome ‘Papa Francisco’

Pumping their raised palms into the air and waving white flags to rhythmic music about peace and “Papa Francisco,” 1,200 Filipino young people from Catholic schools and parishes rehearsed their 15-minute series of dances to welcome Francis on the tarmac of Manila’s Villamor Air Base.

Many of the young Catholics, who arrived five hours before the pope was due, expressed excitement to see the pontiff.

“I’m happy that I will see the pope because I think all my wishes will come true,” said 14-year-old Alaiza Barrientos, part of a 164-member parish dance troupe. “I am praying for several wishes including good health for my grandmother who was found to have a tumor in her spinal cord.”—Teresa Cerojano
Philippines by the numbers

The Philippines is one of two Catholic-majority countries in Asia (East Timor is the other) and, with 100 million people, by far the largest. Spanish colonialists introduced Christianity in the 16th century. A breakdown by religion:

— Roman Catholics: 80.5 percent

— Other Christians: 11.9 percent

— Muslims: 5.6 percent

Source: 2010 Philippine government census—Oliver Teves
The security multitudes

When Francis stepped off his plane, he might have been overwhelmed by the multitudes … of security forces.

Thousands of blue-shirted policemen lined the entire stretch of an 11-kilometer (7-mile) route from a Manila air base to the Apostolic Nunciature, the de facto Vatican embassy, where he will stay.

In a country where al-Qaida-inspired militants have an active presence, up to 50,000 policemen and troops will be deployed to protect the pontiff, President Benigno Aquino III said.

Manila’s top churchman, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, said he joked with a security official that “with (as) many police and military forces that you are deploying, the pope might think that’s the only job offered in the Philippines. He might see only security people.”

Tagle, in an interview with The Associated Press, added: “We also remind the security people that the one coming is a pastor. The pastor needs to connect with the flock.”—Jim Gomez
After the Pope

The streets of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, were largely empty after the pope’s departure, in large part because it was a public holiday for the Tamil harvest festival.

At Galle Face Green, the seaside park where Francis celebrated Mass on Wednesday, hundreds of people were at work, dismantling the stage and canopies, and taking away tanks of drinking water brought for crowds that are estimated to have swollen to 500,000.—Krishan Francis
Quickquote: ‘Just a wave, that’s OK for us’

Hours before the pope arrived in Manila, 60-year-old Precy Asistio was staking out a place Thursday morning near the Apostolic Nunciature, where he will be staying, to try to see him when he arrived that evening.

“We’re waiting for Pope Francis so we can be blessed somehow. Even with just a wave, that’s OK for us.”—Johnson Lai
Coming home to see the Pope

Forty elderly Filipinos living in the United States and Canada, mostly wheel-chair assisted, have made the long trip home in hopes of catching a glimpse of the pope during his visit to the Philippines.

Catching a connecting flight from Taiwan, they said that while they started out as strangers, they have banded together on the journey.

Pacita Venezuela is heading with her husband and her 81-year-old mother Conchita to their hometown in Tacloban in eastern Leyte province. Francis is scheduled to visit Leyte on Saturday to celebrate a Mass and have lunch with survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the province on Nov. 8, 2013.

“It is my biggest opportunity to see him in Tacloban, and it is very emotional because of what happened in Tacloban, it affected my family and relatives,” said Venezuela, who has lived in Canada since 1990 and still has siblings in the city.

“I thank God,” she said, “that Pope Francis, he had a heart to see the people of Tacloban and the Philippines.”—Johnson Lai