Pope Francis’ gifts to PH recalled

MANILA, Philippines—Pope Francis, or Jorge Mario Bergoglio, visited the Philippines 10 years ago, bringing hope to millions of Filipinos, especially those in despair after surviving Supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan) and a major earthquake.

After all, “he was a shepherd who walked with his people, often choosing the dusty road toward the peripheries rather than the comfort of the center,” the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said.

The crowd that gathered for his Mass at the Rizal Park on Jan. 18, 2015 was later regarded as the largest, exceeding the previous record of five million people in 1995, when John Paul II, now a saint, celebrated Mass for the World Youth Day.

Many Filipinos, if not all, had wished for him to come back, and even thought that Pope Francis would be in Cebu City in 2016 for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress.

But there was a lot that the then 79-year-old leader of over one billion Catholics had to work on. Throughout his 12 years as the 266th successor to Peter, Pope Francis made 47 apostolic visits and has reached close to 70 states.

READ: Resolution honoring Pope Francis’ life, legacy filed in Senate

As pointed out by Bishop David William Antonio of Ilagan, “Pope Francis was a shepherd after the heart of Christ – a man of simplicity, mercy and prophetic courage,” and so “his legacy [will] remain an enduring light for us all.”

He said the reign of Pope Francis, which ended after his death on Monday, April 21, at the age of 88, was “marked by a relentless call to encounter Christ in the poor, the marginalized, and the wounded.”

Back in 2015, as he bid farewell to millions of Filipinos drenched in rain, he said: “Please don’t forget to pray for me.” In response, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, who was then the archbishop of Manila, said “we, Filipinos, promise [that] we will pray for you.”

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A commitment that never faltered, this promise became even more significant as Pope Francis breathed his last at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, which has been his home since he was elected in 2013.

Bells clasped, candles were lit, and prayers were said.

After all, a prayer for the Pope, especially to commemorate his death, is nothing compared to how he shepherded the Philippines from Rome, 10,581 kilometers away from Filipinos, whom he once commended for their faith.

READ: Pope Francis connected with Filipinos deeply ‘you can feel it from afar’

 

From 2013 to 2025, Pope Francis, or Lolo Kiko to Filipinos has made his presence felt.

Archbishop Socrates Villages of Lingayen-Dagupan recalled one instance, saying that at the height of the killings when Rodrigo Duterte was president, the Pope encouraged him personally to “carry on in my task of guiding the flock through my pastoral letters.”

Even when the Philippines was battered by a typhoon in 2020, he offered prayers from Rome and expressed “solidarity to the poorest families and those are doing all they can to help them.”

Indeed, he remained true to what he said in 2015: “I’ll be with you silently, with my heart.”

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With his death, however, people are in pain, grieving over the loss of Pope Francis who was loved so dearly, even becoming the Philippines’ most trusted in 2015, with 9 in 10 Filipinos saying they trust him.

A day after his death, the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Batangas City removed the ombrellino, tintinnabulum and sede, which all represent its “special bond” with Pope Francis, to mark his death.

But even when the Pope is no more, he has left the Philippines a lot of work to cherish – the Filipinos he declared “venerables,” the churches he elevated as minor basilicas, and even the bishops he created as cardinals.

From 2013 to 2025, Pope Francis appointed 64 bishops for the dioceses across the Philippines, including the designation of Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David and Jose Cardinal Advincula as heads of the Diocese of Kalookan and Archdiocese of Manila.

Both David and Advincula, together with Orlando Cardinal Quevedo, archbishop-emeritus of Cotabato, have been elevated by Pope Francis as cardinals, or princes of the church, in the 2024, 2020, and 2014 consistories.

READ: Pope Francis in PH: Things to remember

 

With the death of Pope Francis, David and Advincula are expected to be with Tagle in the conclave, which is the process of electing the new pope at the Sistine Chapel inside the Saint Peter’s Basilica.

The heroic virtues of two Filipino bishops and two professed religious have been approved, as well, by Pope Francis, who declared them as “venerables”, bringing them a step closer to sainthood.

He likewise declared 11 churches as minor basilicas, including the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Manaoag, Pangasinan, the first one in the Philippines to be elevated as such by Pope Francis.

A minor basilica is a church that holds a special and significant relationship with the Vatican, especially the pope, making it a place of pilgrimage and a center of worship by bringing people closer to the Holy See.

Throughout his reign, Pope Francis has granted pontifical coronation to 31 images of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Philippines, including the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima, which figured prominently in the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution.

As David said on the day the Bishop of Rome died, “Pope Francis has now returned to the Father, but his legacy as a supreme pontiff—that is, as bridge-builder—will never be forgotten by the Church.”

(2025/04/23-14:12)