Pinoys join celebration of 2 popes’ sainthood

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos join the Catholic world in celebrating the sainthood of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII today, Malacañang said yesterday.

“We join the Catholic world and all people of goodwill as Pope Francis proclaims the sainthood of Pope John XXIII, who opened the windows of the Church to the modern world, and John Paul II, who proclaimed the Gospel so fearlessly to tyrants and embraced the world,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over radio station dzRB.

She said the Palace pays tribute to Pope John XXIII for creating the first Filipino cardinal – Rufino Santos – while Pope John Paul II was close to the hearts of Filipinos for his visits and attention to the Philippines as a Catholic nation.

She said Pope John Paul II’s 1981 visit “precipitated the official end of Martial Law” and his World Youth Day visit in 1995 was “unforgettable in a world of anxiety where pastoral example gives comfort to the faithful and inspires dignified discourse among all peoples.”

2 and 1/2 hours

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines secretary-general Fr. Marvin Mejia said the canonization rites and mass in honor of the two popes could last for about two-and-a-half hours, like that of St. Pedro Calungsod.

Mejia said the rites would begin with a petition wherein the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints with the postulators, or those who present the case for the canonization, would give an explanation and present documents why Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII should become saints.

He said there would be a pause of silence for prayer to be followed by the cardinal prefect of the Congregation making a second petition to enroll the two among the saints. Part of the petition is the invocation to the Holy Spirit for enlightenment.

Pope Francis would then make a third petition, after which he would recite the formula for canonization.

“There are three reasons why the church does canonization for the honor of the Blessed Trinity, for the exultation of the Catholic faith and for the increase of the Christian life,” Mejia said.

He said the rite would end with the prefect thanking the Pope and requesting that he issues an apostolic letter to formally announce that Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII are now saints.

A Mass honoring the two saints would follow.

Close to Blessed Pope John XXII

Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes said Filipinos are not only close to the heart of Blessed Pope John Paul II but also to Blessed Pope John XXIII even though they are not that familiar with him.

Reyes, who said he met Pope John XXIII when he was still studying in Rome, described him as a “very simple man, very jolly.”

“He was the one who created the Second Vatican Council in 1959, ‘which was like the windows that brought fresh wind into the church’,” he said.

He said Pope John XXIII blessed the Ponteficio Collegio Filippino, which serves as the home of Filipino secular diocesan priests studying in Rome, in 1961.

“The many rivers and plenty of rain would not extinguish my love for the Philippine Islands, for the Filipino people,” Reyes quoted the Pope’s opening line.

“It was just that he never got the chance to visit the Philippines because during that time popes seldom travel,” he said.

Relics

The relics of Pope John XXIII would be toured to different parts of the country to help promote the Filipino Catholics devotion to him, events coordinator Dave de la Cruz said.

“While it is common knowledge that we Filipinos have a bias towards Pope John Paul II who will also be canonized with him, as Catholics it is just as well that we learn as much as we can about the life and legacy of John XXIII,” he said.

He said the first leg of the tour is the Radio Veritas Chapel in Quezon City.

To be featured in the tour is a piece of the funeral cassock, which the pope wore when he was buried in 1963. The cloth is drenched in the pontiff’s bodily fluids, making it a first-class relic.

The faithful can also see one of the commemorative medals, which John XXIII gave as souvenir to the participants of the Second Vatican Council.

The relics would be at St. Joseph Parish in Upper Bicutan, Taguig City from May 9 to 12, Holy Cross Parish in Matingain, Lemery, Batangas (May 13 to 16), Holy Family Parish in Kamias, Quezon City (May 17 to 18), Santuario de San José in Greenhills, Mandaluyong City (May 23 to 25), Santa María de la Cabeza Mission Station in Barangay Mangoso, Sigma, Capiz (May 23 to 26) and St. Paul of the Cross Parish in Concepcion Dos, Marikina City (May 31 to June 1).

Intercession

Meanwhile, the independent bloc in the House of Representatives called on Filipinos to pray for the two popes’ intercession in solving the problems facing the country.

Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, leader of the bloc, said the Philippines had a soft spot in the heart of St. John Paul II.

St. John Paul II visited the country twice during his papacy. The first was in 1981 when he beatified the first Filipino martyr, Lorenzo Ruiz, and in 1995 when a crowd of almost five million Catholic faithful trooped to the Quirino Grandstand for the mass he celebrated on the last day of the 10th World Youth Day. It was the biggest gatheringin the pontiff’s 16-year reign.

“Exactly 33 years ago today, he also issued a papal bull or decree bestowing to the Manila Cathedral the title of Basilica of the Immaculate Conception,” Romualdez said.

“But what made that decree extra special is it was issued by then Pope John Paul II on his own, without the intercession of anybody, because he found us Filipinos worthy of that gift. He kept a close watch on us during his papacy,” he added.

The House leader said that with all the trials and crises the country is going through, “divine intercession is the best hope of the people for guidance and relief. –With Paolo Romero