Pope Watch: Clerical groans for Pope’s early departure

Pope Francis, second from left, talks in the cathedral of Palo before prists and nuns in Tacloban City on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015. AP PHOTO/ALESSANDRA TARANTINO

Pope Francis on Saturday visited the Philippine city devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, continuing his two-country Asia tour that also took him to Sri Lanka. Here are some glimpses of his trip as it unfolds:

Groans over an abbreviated visit

The priests and nuns waiting for Pope Francis at a cathedral in the central Philippines must have been a bit surprised when he breezed in without the usual singing and ceremony.

The bigger surprise was yet to come.

Francis took the microphone and, after lightening up the mood with a few words, said, “I’d like to tell you something that displeases me.”

He then explained that his plane’s pilots insisted he would have to return to Manila almost immediately because of an approaching storm, canceling the rest of Saturday’s visit.

“Nohhhhhh,” some of the gathered clergy groaned, though in a good-natured way, some smiling despite the unfortunate turn of events.

Francis apologized, and led them in prayer before zipping to the airport.

Early return to Manila

Francis returned to Manila from typhoon-hit Tacloban city in mid-afternoon, about four hours ahead of schedule.

On the advice of the pilots, he decided to fly back from Tacloban early because of an approaching storm, curtailing his remaining events there.

Pope whips crowd to sing Happy Birthday for cardinal

Before announcing he was cutting short his visit Saturday to Palo, one of the towns devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, Pope Francis told people inside the packed Palo Cathedral that it was the birthday of his No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The Vatican secretary of state turned 60 on Saturday.

Francis asked them all to sing, and everyone broke into a round of “Happy Birthday.”

The cheerful atmosphere was dampened by Francis’ early departure due to an approaching storm, which he said displeased and saddened him.

He said he had to hurry back to the rain-drenched and windblown airport in Tacloban, about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) away. Some in the disappointed crowd groaned “No!”

“You know what the problem is, the airplanes can’t land here,” he said, trying to make light of his abbreviated trip.

Parolin was also feted by reporters with a round of “Happy Birthday” aboard the papal plane.—Oliver Teves

Weather problems

The pope cut short his visit to Tacloban because of an approaching tropical storm.

Those who waited for his outdoor Mass in the morning got soaked by rain, and the winds started kicking up as left. A plastic raincoat he wore over his vestments puffed up in the wind during his open-air motorcade.

The weather bureau has raised the storm alert level for Leyte and nearby provinces.

Tropical Storm Mekkhala, with maximum sustained winds of 100 kilometers (60 miles) per hour and gusts up to 130 kph (80 mph), was expected to make landfall on Samar Island, about 62 kilometers (39 miles) northeast of Tacloban, later Saturday.

The winds were powerful enough to uproot trees and blow away thatched roofs common in the region, the weather bureau said.—Oliver Teves

Typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) facts

Some facts about Typhoon Yolanda, which struck on Nov. 8, 2013:

— Dead or missing: 7,300 people

— Fierce winds and 7-meter (21-foot) waves leveled villages

— 1 million houses destroyed

— 16 million coconut trees, a major source of livelihood, knocked down

— Worst-hit city of Tacloban is still recovering. Shopping malls, hotels and offices have reopened, with cars, taxis and motorcycles clogging downtown streets.

Rainy welcome for Pope in Tacloban

A rain-drenched but lively crowd wearing yellow and white raincoats welcomed Pope Francis in the typhoon-ravage central Philippine city of Tacloban early Saturday, chanting “Papa Francesco, Viva il Papa!”

Police said about 150,000 people were allowed into an enclosed area near the airport where the Pope celebrated Mass, while tens of thousands more lined up outside waiting for a chance to get in.

The crowd cheered loudly at the sight of the plane approaching and waved toward the aircraft as it taxied on the tarmac. Dozens of dancing youth in colorful attire, some swaying atop bamboo stilts, smiled broadly as Francis drove by on his popemobile, waving at them.

Typhoon Yolanda, the strongest typhoon on record to hit land, left more than 7,300 dead or missing.—Oliver Teves

Quickquote: ‘Help us forget and accept’

“I hope the Pope can help us forget and help us accept that our loved ones are gone. We still cry often and don’t talk about what happened.”— Joan Cator, a 23-year-old woman waiting for the pope in Tacloban. She lost two aunts and four nephews and nieces when Yolanda hit in November 2013.—Jim Gomez

20-year—and now 16-hour—wait for Pope

Jessica Panis wept in 1995 when she couldn’t see Pope John Paul II in Manila because her family was too poor to afford the trip to the Philippine capital.

With Pope Francis coming to her city of Tacloban on Saturday, nothing can stop the bubbly 41-year-old toy store clerk from seeing the pontiff—not a looming storm, not the long hours of waiting, not even the call of nature.

“There are so many things to be thankful for. Our house was destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda but we didn’t lose anybody,” Panis said.

She also wanted to thank the Pope for traveling a long distance to comfort typhoon survivors like her.

Clad in red boots and carrying a raincoat, jacket, scarf, sandwiches and a tarpaulin to sleep on, Panis walked several kilometers (miles) with family and friends to a field near Tacloban’s airport where Francis will celebrate Mass. She arrived 16 hours ahead of schedule.

“Actually, I’m wearing a diaper,” she said as she waited in a long line for a public portable toilet. “But I’d rather not use it now because it will surely be a long wait.”–Jim Gomez

A gift with a Typhoon Yolanda link

As a gift to the Pope, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III presented a wooden Madonna made from the wood of a tree that was destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda, the Vatican spokesman said.

The November 2013 disaster leveled entire villages and left more than 7,300 people dead or missing.—Ken Moritsugu