Priests in combat boots: AFP’s prayer warriors for the Pope

Carmela Fonbuena

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Priests in combat boots: AFP’s prayer warriors for the Pope
This spiritual preparation is routine in the Philippine military, where 91,067 of the 125,000-strong troops are Catholic

MANILA, Philippines – Securing Pope Francis during his visit to the Philippines is one big military operation after all. The military priests are also devoting extra hours to pray that nothing untoward happens to the Pope and that the crowd will not be so unruly. 

“We just issued a guidance to all chaplains nationwide that we would be offering a holy hour. It will start tomorrow (Thursday), 7pm until 8pm, for the duration of papal visit,” said military diocese spokesman Major Harley Flores on Wednesday, January 14, the eve of the pope’s arrival. 

CASSOCKS AND COMBAT BOOTS: Father P2Lt Tyrone Narisma shows his combat boots

This “spiritual preparation” is routine in the Philippine military, where 91,067 of the 125,000-strong troops are Catholic. 

They usually devote a holy hour or pray the novena during the first Friday of each month to pray for the military’s combat operations and for troops killed in action.

“This is a special intention for the safety of the Pope,” said Flores.

He said they started the “spiritual preparation” for Pope Francis’ visit in October, following the vow of Armed Forces chief Gregorio Catapang Jr to pray the rosary every day.

They have also been praying the novena and the national prayer issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, specifically asking for his safety. 

“We also encourage the non-Catholic chaplains to offer the same prayer for the safety of our Pope,” said Flores.

The military is deploying 12,000 troops and 5,000 reservists to support the police in securing Pope Francis in various events in Metro Manila and Leyte.

Up to 25,000 cops will be deployed.  Rappler.com

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