Catholics hail 2 new saints

MANILA, Philippines - Tens of thousands of Catholics attended special masses across the Philippines yesterday to celebrate Pope Francis’ proclamation of two new saints, including John Paul II, a beloved figure in Asia’s bastion of the faith.

Archbishop of Manila Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle led the service at the packed 16,500-seat Araneta Coliseum as huge screens beamed live images from the Vatican of the canonization of John Paul II and John XXIII.

Many of the devotees were tearful, recalling personal stories of how seeing John Paul II during his visits to the Philippines in 1981 and 1995 had changed their lives.

“We’re so touched and blessed to have witnessed this great pope who was a part of my youth, and my religious journey,” said Mila Estrada, 46, who was among millions of students who gathered to see John Paul II when Manila hosted World Youth Day in 1995.

“He was the pope we grew up with, and whose teachings directly touched our lives,” said Estrada.

For photographer Ernie Sarmiento, seeing John Paul II for the first time in 1981 as a student was a “mesmerizing” event that cemented his future career path.

He had been assigned by the school paper to cover the pontiff’s visit to the University of Santo Tomas, Asia’s oldest and largest Catholic school.

Sarmiento remembers fumbling with his equipment as the pope started walking in his direction, regaining composure just in time to capture an image of the pope tightly embracing a student.

“I now have a straight line” to God, Sarmiento said of the new saint.

The student in the photograph, Henry Tenedero, said he had been chosen to deliver a message to John Paul II by the Manila archdiocese but military generals under then dictator Ferdinand Marcos had tried to prevent him from approaching the pope.

“I was strictly advised by the generals to go back to my chair after my speech,” Tenedero said. “I saw the Pope smiling, as if to say, ‘come here’, so I did, and then (I got) the big hug.”

Five years later, Marcos’ 20-year regime crumbled following a “people power” revolution backed by local Catholic Church leaders.

More than 80 percent of the Philippines’ 100 million population are Catholics, and the Church remains a major influence on daily life.

However ordinary Filipinos know little about John XXIII, according to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, one of the organizers of an upcoming display to spread awareness about the pope.

The relics of John XXIII, including a piece of his funeral cassock, will be on display in Manila in May as part of the celebrations.

Dabawenyos celebrate canonization

 Thousands of Dabawenyos flocked yesterday to the campus of a local college in Davao City to also commemorate the canonization of the two popes in Vatican, Rome yesterday.

Those who gathered at the John Paul II College campus started the event with a praise and worship ceremony at 1 p.m.

 A live feed of the ongoing canonization rites in Vatican was also shown at 3:30 p.m., which was followed by a Holy Mass at 5 p.m. At 6 p.m., a viewing of the relics of Pope John Paul II was held.

 The “Totus Tuus Tour,” a Latin phrase which means “totally yours,” displayed Pope John Paul II’s personal items such as books, clothes, robe, part of his cassock, and other memorabilia.

Other relics of Pope John Paul II that are on display are his hair, bones, and blood remains. Fifty replicas of the Pope’s skullcap, purificator, chasuble, and a stole that he used during the beatification of Lorenzo Ruiz in Manila in 1981 will also be exhibited.

 The two sets of relics came all the way from Rome and Poland.

Concelebrated mass

In Albay, Bishop Joel Baylon led a concelebrated mass at the Astrodome yesterday afternoon for the canonization of the two popes.

Memorabilia of Pope John Paul II such as salakot, pall, tiara, rattan chair that he used when he came to the province on May 1, 1981 have been displayed at the right wing of the St. Gregory Cathedral for the past three days.

Baylon said Pope John XXIII, through the Second Vatican Council, opened the Catholic Church to the world.

“When he opened the Vatican Council, he was asking for a change inside the church,” said Baylon during an interview at the Astrodome before the mass. – AP, Edith Regalado, Celso Amo