Tagle lists ‘firsts’ in Pope’s visit to Leyte

 Despite the rain brought by Typhoon Amang, people attended Pope Francis’ mass  in Tacloban airport .CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON

MANILA, Philippines–There were several “firsts” in Pope Francis’ visit to Leyte province on Saturday, according to Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

Speaking at a news conference in Manila after the papal delegation’s return to Manila, Tagle, who traveled with the Pope to Leyte, quoted the Pontiff as having said it was the first time he celebrated a Mass in stormy weather.

“It’s also the first time the Pope held a Mass wearing a raincoat,” Tagle said.

The Vatican’s spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, said the Pope “insisted on holding the Mass at the airport in Tacloban City instead of holding it inside a cathedral or tent” that his hosts had put up.

“Absolutely no. It is impossible,” Lombardi quoted the Pope as saying. “Where are the people? The people are on the ground. They’re out. We have to be with them and celebrate with them.”

“The Pope said he had experienced occasional rains, but this type was a first,” Tagle said.

According to Lombardi, the Pope’s “experience of [saying] Mass under the rain has a profound meaning.”

That was “exactly the same experience of [the people of Tacloban] now,” he said.

Curtailed visit

Vatican officials decided to abbreviate the Pope’s visit to Tacloban and Palo town after learning that Tropical Storm “Amang” (international name: Mekkhala) was expected to make landfall in nearby Eastern Samar province on Saturday afternoon.

Lombardi said the Pope was informed on Friday night that his plane’s pilots were concerned about the weather and wanted to leave Tacloban earlier than expected.

He said Francis was in personal contact with the Philippine Airlines pilot, Capt. Roland Narciso, who recommended earlier departure from Manila and earlier departure from Tacloban.

Francis readily agreed to cut his visit short, but said canceling it was out of the question, according to Lombardi.

The Airbus A320 carrying the Pope left Villamor Air Base at 7:35 a.m. on Friday instead of 8:15 a.m. After 90 minutes, the plane landed safely at the Tacloban airport.

Instead of turning around at 5 p.m., as originally scheduled, the plane left Tacloban with the Pope on board at 1 p.m. It made the flight back to Manila safely.

Stopping for a friend

One of the events that got cut from Francis’ schedule in Leyte as he rushed to catch his flight back to Manila was the inauguration of a Vatican-funded shelter for orphans and the elderly in Palo.

Francis couldn’t totally skip it, though, in part because a friend, the Rev. John Oh Woong-Jin, is in charge of the project.

So the papal convoy pulled up in front of the Pope Francis Center for the Poor. He blessed it from his popemobile, and had a brief reunion in the driveway with the South Korean Catholic missionary.

In a traditional South Korean gesture of friendship, Oh arched his hands to form the shape of a heart above his head and told the Pontiff, “Saranghamnida,” the equivalent of “We love you” in Korean.

Francis gamely returned the gesture, saying “Saranghamnida.” Then he vanished into the stormy weather.

Despite the bad weather, the Pope cherished his “intimate encounter” with the people of Leyte, Lombardi said.

Learning trip

Tagle quoted the Pontiff as saying, “This visit is really for me. I’m learning.”

According to Tagle, the Pope’s brief luncheon meeting with 30 typhoon survivors in Palo was “special.”

“I could never forget his face while listening to the accounts of the people he shared lunch with, people who lost their family members. He was shaking his head,” Tagle said.

“Oh, oh,” Tagle quoted the Pontiff as saying as he listened to the survivors’ stories. “He was suffering. Before the 30 survivors, he was reduced to silence. He was shaken.”

Tagle said he did “some translation” for the Pope, who told the survivors, “Eat, eat.”

A taste of chicken soup

Tagle said that during the 15-minute meeting, he “saw the Pope tasting chicken soup.”

Francis ate nothing more and he must have gotten hungry as he flew back to Manila. During their flight back to Manila, Tagle said, Francis “ate some potato chips and some salad.”

Lombardi reported that between 200,000 and 300,000 people welcomed the Pope in Tacloban and Palo.

He described the event as “wonderfully organized.”–With a report from AP