On his way to Rome, Pope tweets Tagalog anew to ask for prayers

MANILA, Philippines - Pope Francis asked for more prayers from Filipinos after leaving Manila on Monday morning.

"Sa aking mga kaibigan sa Sri Lanka at Pilipinas: Naway pagpalain kayo ng Diyos. Sana'y patuloy niyo akong ipagdasal," the pontiff said on his official Twitter account while he was on his way from the Philippines to Rome, Italy.

It was the pope's sixth tweet in Tagalog since he arrived here on January 15 for a five-day state and apostolic visit.

In his first tweet, Francis said the Philippines bears witness to the "youthfulness and vitality" of the Catholic Church.

The post was re-tweeted about 72,000 times and was marked "favorite" by 83,000 Twitter users.

In his next tweets, he spoke about the family and Christian life.

He urged Filipinos to protect and strengthen the family, which he considered as the "greatest treasure of any country" and the "cornerstone of society."

Francis said Christians are called to serve those in need.

"Madalas nating makalimutang pagtuunan ng pansin ang mga bagay na talagang mahalaga. Nakakalimutan natin na tayo'y Anak ng Diyos," he said in one of his most recent tweets.