MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Embassy in Washington DC on Friday, September 18, announced the names of 13 Filipino children who will be greeting Pope Francis in the US capital city. 

The following Filipinos will join other children in welcoming Pope Francis on Thursday morning, September 24, in Washington DC:

• Beatrice Olivares
• Zacharie Aguila Famoso
• Angelo Magalong
• Abram Elijah Moses Caasi
• Joelle Marie Bustamante
• Lorenz Alacbay
• Priscilla Saldana
• Precious Phan
• Maurine Ysabel Suarez
• Anton Jordan
• Christian Gio Catu
• Danica Regalario
• Alyssa Laluces

The Philippine embassy said these children “have been selected through a random draw to join other children of the Archdiocese of Washington to welcome His Holiness Pope Francis to Washington, DC.”

“The Embassy thanks the Archdiocese of Washington, under His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl, for allowing Filipino and Filipino-American children to participate in welcoming the Holy Father to Washington DC,” an earlier statement read.

This is, so far, the Pope’s most politically-charged trip, an 8-day whirlwind visit which will take him from Havana’s Revolution Square in Cuba to the headquarters of the United Nations.

Francis, for one, is set to become the first pontiff to address a joint meeting of Congress in Washington.

The Pope’s visit to the US comes 8 months after he came to the Philippines primarily to console Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) survivors in the Visayas. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com