Multiple nine-day Masses being held for Cory

MANILA, Philippines -The family of former President Corazon Aquino has decided to hold the nine-day Mass for her privately, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said yesterday.

Mourners and supporters continued to flock to the Aquino residence at Times Street in Quezon City to pay their last respects to the former leader. 

Noynoy earlier said they were considering attending Masses in different churches to be with the people sympathizing with them.

Last Thursday, the Aquino siblings joined a novena Mass at their mother’s parish in Quezon City, the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

The senator said the family would like to take a little rest as they grieve the loss of their mother. But he said he would be back to work in the Senate on Monday.

His youngest sister, Kris, also said she would be back on television by Monday because their parents taught them to honor commitments and fulfill their duties in their respective fields.

As of yesterday, two days after Mrs. Aquino’s burial, individuals and families still continued to arrive at Times Street, many of them laying flowers and lighting candles as they prayed for the icon of Philippine democracy.

Some of them considered the house in Barangay West Triangle a historical spot, having their photos taken in front of the one-storey residence.

Because of the host of mourners who continue to flock there, the front of Aquino residence has been turned into a sea of yellow flowers and other memorabilia offered in honor of the late leader.

At the Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish where Mrs. Aquino had been a fixture every Saturday evening, novena masses or “pasiyam” are still being heard and offered for the beloved leader.

From embassies to consulates

Days after Tita Cory was laid to rest, expressions of sympathy and condolences continue to pour in for the bereaved family.

Philippine embassies and consulates worldwide continued to receive messages of condolences and mass offerings, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The Philippine Embassy in Manama reported to the DFA that His Majesty Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said expressed his sincere condolences to President Arroyo, the Aquino family, and the people of the Philippines.

The Embassy opened a book of condolences to allow members of the diplomatic community, foreign friends and Filipinos in Oman to pay their respects.

Embassy officers and staff also organized a prayer mass inside the Chancery, which was attended by Filipino community leaders and Filipinos awaiting repatriation to the Philippines.

The Embassy, led by Philippine Ambassador to Bahrain Corazon Bahjin, had offered a mass for the former President.

The Philippine Consulate General in Dubai received numerous messages of condolences for the late President and her family from various Filipino community groups and foreign friends in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

The Consulate also opened Books of Condolences for the consular corps in Dubai and the Northern Emirates as well as for the members of the Filipino community.

Two special masses in honor of the former leader were celebrated at St. Michael’s Church in the Emirate of Sharjah last Sunday, while another was held at St. Mary’s Church in the Emirate of Dubai on Monday.

Both masses were well attended by Filipino community members and representatives from the Consulate and the POLO-OWWA.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso signed on Tuesday the Book of Condolence for the late President at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo.

The Prime Minister was received by Ambassador Domingo Siazon Jr. and the Philippine embassy staff.

The Prime Minister also sent a message to President Arroyo expressing his deepest sympathies and the Japanese people’s greatest respect for President Aquino’s contribution to the promotion of friendship between the Philippines and Japan.

Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone likewise expressed his condolences to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.

Foreign Minister George Yeo called on Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Minda Calaguian-Cruz on Tuesday to offer his sympathies and sign the condolence book for Mrs. Aquino.

“On behalf of the People and Government of Singapore, I convey our deepest condolences to the People and Government of the Philippines on the passing away of their beloved President, Corazon Aquino. Suddenly called to duty, she discharged the responsibility of her high office with distinction, restoring democracy to her people and her country,” Minister Yeo wrote.

In a press statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore relayed that the Government was “deeply saddened” by the news, and indicated that President S.R. Nathan had written to President Arroyo to convey his condolences.

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, both of whom were personally acquainted with the late President, wrote to Noynoy to express their condolences.

The Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai has also been receiving an outpouring of condolences.

Members of the Consular Corps in Shanghai, members of the Filipino Community, and officials have signed the condolence book at the Consulate.

The Hefei Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, in a note verbale, said that the former President will be remembered and respected for advocating democracy, peace, women’s empowerment and religious piety.

“We still cannot believe that we have lost such a nice person, an old friend of China,” the correspondence read.

The Philippine Consulate General and the Filipino community in Shanghai held a memorial service on Thursday at the St. Francis Church in Shanghai.

Diplomats and heads of the consular missions in Sydney signed the Book of Condolence,, which the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney opened in honor of the late former President.

“She was a friend of freedom and a champion of democracy whose passing the world truly mourns,” wrote one Consul General. “I wish to join the family of President Aquino in their mourning,” wrote another high-ranking diplomat.

“I have to express my sadness at the loss of her, she was a great leader to be admired and model for us all to follow,” said another Consul General.

Yellow roses

Former foreign ambassadors to the Philippines were among the private citizens who went to the Consulate to express their sympathies for the bereaved family of the late President and the Filipino people for their loss.

“She was an excellent leader and it was an honor for me to have been an Ambassador to the Philippines while she was President,” said one former diplomat.

Filipinos and leaders of the Filipino-Australian Community in New South Wales also visited the Consulate to write their sympathies on the Condolence Book.

Requiem Masses for the late former President were held throughout the state. Filipino priests have been offering Masses in their respective parishes since the day President Aquino passed away.

The Philippine Consulate held a Mass on Monday. Three parishes with large Filipino congregations – at Bossley Park, Parramatta City, and Waitara – and will hold a Memorial Mass on Sunday.

The Philippine Embassy to the Holy See reported to the DFA that Filipino priests, nuns, and lay persons each offered a yellow rose for the deeply revered former President during a requiem mass organized by the Embassy at the Santa Anna Church in Vatican City on Wednesday.

The offering of the yellow roses symbolized the community’s gratitude for the gift of the person of President Cory, who will continue to be an inspiration of the Filipino people as a woman of courage, integrity, and deep faith.

His eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze of Nigeria, who was one of the toughest contenders for pope during the selection more than four years ago, also offered his condolences to the Aquino family.

“Corazon Aquino is a great person and known around the world. She was given great honor and it is more important that God had given her eternal rest,” Arinze said. – With Pia Lee Brago, Rudy Santos, Reinir Padua