Davide hopes Pope will return for IEC

CEBU, Philippines - After his hope for the Pope to drop by the province did not materialize, Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III remains optimistic that Pope Francis will be present during the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) next year.

The Archdiocese of Cebu has been chosen to host the international gathering of ecclesiastics and laymen which is set for January 24 to 31, 2016.

Davide believed that the rapturous welcome that Filipinos had given to Pope Francis during his five-day visit to the country would inspire the pontiff to return to the Philippines for the second time.

“I am very optimistic nga moari siya sa 2016, judging from the people nga misugat niya ug katong mitambong sa kaihokan sa Manila… We should pray nga mobalik siya,” Davide told reporters.

Pope Francis left for Rome yesterday morning after his weeklong trip to Asia that started in Sri Lanka and ended in the Philippines.

Davide said he, representing the province, is willing to sit down with Church officials on the preparations needed for the IEC, as well as the coming of the Pope.

“In fact, kanang sa preparation sa Eucharistic Congress gi-involve man ang government ug ang LGUs (local government units) ana,” he said.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, through the Permanent Committee on IEC and the Local Committee of Cebu, is leading the preparations for the IEC 2016.

This is the second time that the Philippines will host the international gathering. The first one was in 1937 which was participated by over half a million delegates worldwide.

The IEC aims to promote awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Catholic Church, its website stated.

It will have the theme “Christ in you, our hope of glory” which is taken from the Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians.

The choice of the Phi-lippines as venue for the international event was announced by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in June 2012.  (FREEMAN)