MANILA – President Benigno Aquino, on Thursday in Manila, led 24 government and Catholic Church officials to welcome Pope Francis to the country.
Pope Francis received an exuberant welcome with cheers, music and dance marking the start of a [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”8″]five-day visit to Asia’s largest Catholic-majority country.
Church bells around the country rang as the Sri Lankan Airlines plane carrying the 78-year-old [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]Argentinian cleric landed at the Villamor Air Base in Manila.
Aquino kissed the pope’s ring and briefly chatted with him before two orphans offered him flowers, as [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]more than 1,200 children performed a dance on the tarmac.
A Philippines official noted that Francis skull cap was blown off by strong winds as he stepped out of the jet to applause and cheers, while a Swiss Guard later handed back the pontiff’s retrieved skull cap.
Pope Francis embraced the two orphans, 9-year-old Lanie Ortillo and 10-year-old Mark Angelo Balbero, and blessed them before meeting the other officials.
Ortillo said as she was handing Pope the flowers that “Bienvenido Papa Francisco, please pray for the [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]Filipino people,”.
Outside the air base, tens of thousands of excited Filipinos waved small Philippine, yellow and white flags or handkerchiefs as the pope’s motorcade passed by on the way to the Apostolic
Pope Francis waved and smiled to the cheering crowd, many of whom were taking photos with their mobile phones as they cried out to him, “Pope Francis! Mabuhay!” or welcome in Filipino.
People had begun gathering along the 22-kilometre route of the motorcade since early in the morning. They carried signs welcoming the pope and silently prayed.
One sign read in two languages: “Miserando atque eligendo. Lowly but chosen.”
One excited Filipino was 77-year-old Flor Morados, who came eight hours before the pope’s scheduled arrival to secure a spot under a flyover just across from the air base.
“I will be happy just to see the plane carrying Pope Francis,” she said.
“It will be a blessing if I can shake hands with the Holy Father,’’ she added.
Authorities closed several major roads, shut down the country’s main airport for hours and declared a no-fly zone around Manila.
More than 40,000 police officers, soldiers and traffic enforcers are deployed for the visit, which will also bring Pope Francis to the eastern city of Tacloban, where typhoon Haiyan killed at least 6,300 people in 2013.
In Manila, the head of the Catholic Church will celebrate Mass at a seaside grandstand in Rizal Park on Sunday, with millions expected to attend.
The government has declared a public holiday and imposed a liquor ban during the visit.
Pope Francis is the third pontiff to visit the Philippines, Asia’s largest predominantly Catholic country. More than 80 per cent of the nation’s estimated 100 million people adhere to the religion.
In 1995, an estimated 4 million people attended a Mass celebrated by John Paul II at Rizal Park in what was considered the biggest-ever gathering for a papal event, as the authorities had to airlift John Paul II to the site because all of the roads were jammed. (dpa/NAN)