Pope Francis and the Philippines: How he won over the nation

Lashed by an off-season storms, Pope Francis stepped out on a rain-soaked wooden step in front of hundreds of thousands of weeping travelers in the northern Philippines.

Organisers had warned him to withdraw the 2015 opened heat mass in Tacloban as the wind had worsened.

But Francis was never been put off: he flew through the storms from the cash Manila to keep the density in remembrance of more than 6,000 individuals who had perished in Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. As he rode in his popemobile around the huge aircraft carpark waving to the masses, palm branches swayed violently in the wind.

In Asia’s largest Roman Catholic nation, all Popes like riot position. Here, faith brought by Colonial colonisers in the 16th Century has become woven into the very fabric of society, and given a distinctly Filipino strength and color. In some cities devotees are also nailed to the cross at Easter to follow the anguish of Jesus.

But with his large in Tacloban- along with his casual, down-to-earth sense and calls for fairness- Pope Francis won certain devotion among the Philippine’s 80 million Catholics.

Some have described Monday’s demise of the person they called Lolo Kiko, or Grandpa Francis, as leaving them feeling like kids. Poor to grieve him had been held across the country.

” So many of you have lost all,” he told those who had gathered in the rain to listen to his speech more than 10 years earlier.

” I do not know what to show you. But undoubtedly He knows what to show you! So many of you have lost members of your family. I can only be motionless; I visit you softly, with my heart. “

And therefore horror struck.

A metal crane collapsed, killing 27-year-old Kristel, an aid worker who was among the church.

Paul Padasas Jr was at apartment in Taguig, a district of Manila, when he received the news of his mother’s death.

” I thought of questioning God, why did he permit that happen to my child? ” he told the BBC.

The second morning, he woke up to a burst of missed calls, asking him to come to the Pope’s greek hotel at the Vatican’s political objective near Manila’s old Spanish third.

He got dressed quickly and brought along his family and brother-in-law.

As he waited in a holding area at the Apostolic Nunciature, personnel people asked him to listen to a television spread of the Pope’s size at the local University of Santo Tomas. There, the Pope mentioned Kristel and offered his condolences to her home.

At that point, Mr Padasas said he broke down. ” I was feeling all kinds of thoughts at that time. “

He said he felt exceptionally nervous as he was led to the Pope’s place a few hours after.

Beside the Pope was Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, next the Archbishop of Manila, who translated the Pope’s thoughts into Tagalog for Mr Padasas.

Mr Padasas said the Pope told him that he was praying for Kristel. Then the pope placed his hands over Mr Padasas ‘ nose and blessed him.

” My heart was beating out of my stomach. Finally I felt something like an electrical current going through my whole figure,” he said. ” I told myself, that must be what the Holy Spirit feels like. “

Mr Padasas recalled feeling at harmony.

” Our kids are only on product to us from God. Kristel has served her goal. “

The rest of the Argentinian-born Pope’s visit, which took place only two years into his church, was a victory.

His aircraft- codenamed Shepherd One- returned to Manila carefully from Tacloban the next day, despite the windy conditions. Minutes later, a private flight skidded off the airport, shutting it down.

The following morning, six million attended the open-air size he held in and around Luneta, Manila’s principal square at dusk- the largest congregation previously recorded by the Vatican. It unofficially exceeded the four-million strong crowd at John Paul II’s Luneta mass in 1995, officially recognised by the Guinness World records as the world’s largest papal gathering.

Everywhere Pope Francis went during his five-day visit, traffic stopped and the Catholic faithful scrambled for selfies as his popemobile drove past.

Rodrigo Duterte, who would assume the presidency the year after the papal visit, would make headlines after cursing the Pope for the traffic chaos he caused.

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When he learned that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88, Mr Padasas said he reached for daughter’s photo at the family altar and said to her in prayer:” Please welcome Pope Francis in heaven. “

He said he still keeps the rosary that Pope Francis gave him as a gift. ” I will not sell this, even for a million dollars. “

Across the country- where it is not uncommon for the smallest village to have a patron saint- church bells tolled and portraits of Pope Francis were hung inside churches as the faithful mourned.

” Pope Francis is special to me. He is my favourite pope. As an LGBT member, I saw in him love for all genders, whether you are rich or poor. He is truly the people’s pope,” 19-year-old nursing student Renzie Sarmiento told BBC News outside Manila Cathedral on Tuesday.

” As someone who wants to return to the Catholic Church, Francis is someone who represents the love of Jesus Christ,” he said.

Mr Sarmiento said he hoped Francis ‘ successor would maintain the Catholic Church’s openness to diversity.

” Love should not exclude LGBT members,” he said.

But even as the nation mourns, Filipinos are thinking about what happens next: at the Manila Cathedral mass for Pope Francis, mourners were saying the time has come for someone from one of the largest Catholic populations on the planet to be the church’s next leader.

In fact, the Philippines has five cardinals who are eligible to vote for- and also potentially be elected as- the next Pope, but many are pinning their hopes on Cardinal Tagle.

Luis Antonio Tagle was in Francis ‘ inner circle and is largely believed to be someone who would further his progressive agenda. Based in the Vatican, he is the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, the office that promotes evangelisation and growth of new churches.

Widely known as the” Asian Francis”, Fr Tagle accompanied Pope Francis on his 11-day tour of South East Asia last year. He also constantly tries to make Catholicism relevant to younger Filipinos with a strong presence on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and X.

For ice cream vendor Reymond Clores, a Tagle papacy would be like a dream.

” I used to see Cardinal Tagle here all the time. It will be a very happy moment for Filipinos. It will make me very proud as a Filipino,” the 37-year-old vendor said.

Mr Padasas said Tagle would make a kind Pope, like Francis.

” If that happens, I will consider myself very lucky. How many people can say that they met two Popes at the same time? “