Pope praises Pinoys

Newly installed Pope Benedict XVI expressed his gratitude to Filipinos for leading Roman Catholicism in Asia during his meeting Sunday with Vice President Noli de Castro at the Vatican.

"I am happy that the Philippines remains the bastion of Catholicism in Asia and I am glad that Filipinos remain strong and firm in their faith in the Roman Catholic Church," Benedict told De Castro before his investiture as the 265th leader of the Catholic Church.

De Castro asked the new Pontiff to "pray for the Philippines and for the strengthening of Filipino families."

He later described his audience with the Pope as "very touching, encouraging and a humbling experience."

A devout Catholic, De Castro was accompanied by Leonida Vera and Philip Lhullier, ambassadors to the Vatican and Italy, respectively, and De Castro’s daughter Catherine.

Earlier, De Castro met with Cebu archbishop Cardinal Ricardo Vidal and Vatican-based Cardinal Jose Sanchez, as well as leaders of the local Filipino community.

He urged Filipinos there to pray for peace and prosperity in the Philippines because they are at the "power center of prayer."

In 1995, De Castro, then a television and radio news anchorman of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., was moved to tears during a live nationwide television coverage of the visit of the late Pope John Paul II, Benedict’s predecessor.

Church officials said John Paul, who visited the country twice, was fond of the Philippines since his stopover in Manila during a trip to Australia in 1973, five years before he was elected pontiff.

While waiting for his connecting flight at Manila airport, the then Cardinal Karol Wojtyla asked if there was a church nearby where he could say Mass. He was directed to the popular Redemptorist Church in Parañaque City’s Baclaran district.

"He went there, he just knocked on the door and they accepted him," letting the Polish-born priest say Mass at the main altar, church spokesman Fr. James Reuter said.

"They gave him supper and San Miguel beer which he also liked," he said. "He was very touched by the Filipino people because of their warmth and affection."

Benedict, the former cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, appealed for the unity of Christians in a homily at his inauguration Mass Sunday, saying there should be "one flock, one shepherd."

In a message frequently interrupted by applause from the mass of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the 78-year-old Pope asked for prayers to help him, a "weak servant of God," in the "enormous task which truly exceeds all human capacity."

"I am not alone," he said. "I do not have to carry alone what, in truth, I could never carry alone."

Benedict also stressed the need for unity among Christians and dialogue with other faiths.

Roman Catholicism was introduced to the Philippines by Spanish colonialists in the 16th century. Almost 80 percent of the country’s population or around 68.7 million people are Catholics.

The Catholic Church in the Philippines will hold a special Mass at the Manila Cathedral today to celebrate Benedict’s election.

"With this celebration, we join thanksgiving to the Good Shepherd who continues to tend His church through the successor of Peter, and in tribute of faith as well as love and prayer to our new Holy Father," said Papal Nuncio Antonio Franco, the Vatican’s envoy to the Philippines.