Thousands spill out onto streets to welcome Pope Francis

Pope Francis, right, accompanied by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, left, archbishop of Manila, waves to Filipinos as he arrives in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015. Ecstatic crowds greeted Pope Francis as he arrived Thursday in the Philippines, Asia’s most populous Catholic nation, for the first papal visit in 20 years. AP

MANILA, Philippines—Tens of thousands of people on Thursday afternoon trooped to the streets of Manila to give a warm welcome to Pope Francis who has arrived in the Philippines for a five-day visit.

The crowd lined up the streets of Pasay City and Manila for the motorcade of the Pope, who rode the popemobile.

Filipino and foreign faithful and even mere onlookers erupted into wild cheers as the Pope passed by Roxas Boulevard going to the Papal Nunciature in Taft Avenue, his official residence while in the country.

Lisa Pabelico, 55, was among the thousands of Filipinos who eagerly welcomed the Pope.

Pabelico said it would be her third time to meet a pope after her encounter with Pope Paul VI in 1970 and with then Pope and now Saint John Paul II in 1995.

“I was five years old then when I met Paul Paul VI in Malacañang. Fifty years after, I will be able to see Pope Francis. I feel blessed,” Pabelico told INQUIRER.net.

She said she has been reminiscing of her encounter with Pope Paul VI months before the arrival of Pope Francis in the country this January.

Pope Francis’ visit marks the fourth time a pontiff is gracing Philippine soil. Pope Paul VI was the first pope to come here in 1970, while St. John Paul II did it twice—the first in 1981 when he beatified the first Filipino saint, Lorenzo Ruiz, and the second in 1995 when he led the celebrations for the World Youth Day.

Where’s my cap?

Earlier at the airport, 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 zucchetto or a calotte.

The pontiff grabbed at his cap — 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. —With reports from Associated Press

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