Nuns in cloister say Pope Francis’ visit ‘like Christ passed by’

MANILA, Philippines—While millions of Filipinos got the chance to see Pope Francis in person during his visit to the Philippines, cloistered nuns in the country were not as lucky.

But the nuns said the feelings and sentiments were just the same. “It was like Christ passed by,” they said, describing the Pope’s five-day visit.

A story posted on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News website narrated the experiences of cloistered nuns in the Philippines while the Pope was in the country.

“We all had a very beautiful and soulful experience. Here we followed everything switching to whatever channel has the best transmission. We all cannot contain our joy as the Sri Lankan airplane became visible mid-air,” said a nun who refused to disclose her name nor the name of her congregation.

The nun said their convent was filled with “clapping and shouts of delight.”

“Even if we were here inside the convent, it felt like we were present in welcoming him. The clapping and shouts of joy from all of us gave us a feeling that we were also in Villamor! We were all so excited and happy,” she said.

The contemplative nuns, whose congregation was in Southern Tagalog, rang their three bells for 15 minutes at exactly 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 when Pope Francis’ plane landed at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City.

The nuns shared their delight when they finally saw on television Pope Francis peeping through the plane’s window.

“You can imagine our delight when he was delayed a bit and we were all there when the entire nation saw him in the window. Most of us were already teary-eyed just having a glimpse of him looking out in the window,” she said.

The nun said she and her fellow nuns were one with the sentiments of the Filipino people during the Pope’s visit.

“As many of us still feel, there is so much to reread, to reflect, to relish, to pray for, on our common retreat of five days as a nation, with our Holy Father as our retreat master,” said the nun.

After His Holiness left the country, the nun said they were now back to “ordinary life.”

“We’re now all back to ordinary life. The invitation to deepen and to truly practice what our Holy Father planted in our hearts begins right here, right now, wherever we are. Small steps, courageous steps. All is grace,” she said.

“We continue to thank Our Lord and Mama Mary as we share yours and our entire country’s joy for the grace-filled visit of our dearest Holy Father, Pope Francis,” she added.