Pope’s Philippine trip initially set Nov. 2014

MANILA, Philippines – If Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) had not struck central Philippines in November 2013, the Philippines would have seen a 3rd pope visit its shores much sooner.

In an interview over dzMM on Sunday evening, January 4, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said Pope Francis had wanted to make his first visit to the Philippines in November 2014.

Speaking on the radio program Salitang Buhay (Word Alive), Tagle added that originally, the visit’s theme would have focused on empowering laypersons. The Catholic Church in the Philippines, after all, marked the Year of the Laity in 2014.

“Noong una naming napag-usapan ng Santo Papa ang pagbisita sa Pilipinas, wala pa ang Yolanda. Sa aming unang usapan, ang unang gusto niyang punta dito sa Pilipinas ay itong nakaraang Nobyembre. Gusto niyang agahan,” Tagle said. 

(When the Pope and I first spoke about a visit to the Philippines, Yolanda had not yet happened. He actually wanted to go to the Philippines last November. He wanted to visit earlier.)

But then Yolanda swept through central Philippines in November 2013, killing more than 6,000 people and leaving thousands homeless.

‘New configuration’

The Philippines undertook a massive rebuilding program, the biggest reconstruction effort since World War II.

“Kaya nagkaroon ng bagong configuration. Kaya halos pinagsasabay tuloy ang misyon na “get out, evangelize Asia,” and ‘mercy and compassion,” Tagle added. (That’s why it acquired a new configuration. We combined the mission to “get out, evangelize Asia,” and “mercy and compassion.”)

Francis’ trip to the Philippines is both an apostolic and state visit, with the theme “mercy and compassion.”

A “defining character” of his trip is his visit to the Visayas to meet with disaster victims.

Francis’ visit will mark the first time in 3 decades – only the second time ever – for a pope to go beyond Manila. (READ: Pope chooses Visayas as core of Philippine trip)

There, he will pray before the mass grave of Haiyan victims in Palo, Leyte, and have lunch with earthquake and typhoon survivors. 

Francis is set to spend 5 days in the Philippines from January 15 to 19: 4 days in the capital Manila, and one day in the Visayas to meet with survivors of Yolanda and the 2013 earthquake in the Visayas. – Rappler.com