... they bring to the world, Christian communities; says Filipino women in Rome are ‘smugglers’ of faith
by Leslie Ann Aquino
Manila Bulletin
Pope Francis thanked Sunday, March 14, the Filipino people for the joy they bring to the whole world and Christian communities.
Pope Francis listens to Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (not in picture) during a mass to mark 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines, on March 14, 2021 at St. Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / POOL / AFP)
“Dear brothers and sisters, five hundred years have passed since the Christian message first arrived in the Philippines. You received the joy of the Gospel: the good news that God so loved us that he gave his Son for us. And this joy is evident in your people. We see it in your eyes, on your faces, in your songs and in your prayers. In the joy with which you bring your faith to other lands,”he said in a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome in celebration of the 500 years of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.
“I have often said that here in Rome, Filipino women are ‘smugglers’ of faith! Because wherever they go to work, they sow the faith. It is part of your genes, a blessed ‘infectiousness’ that I urge you to preserve,” added the Pope.
“I want to thank you, then, for the joy you bring to the whole world and to our Christian communities,” he said.
In his homily, the Pope also urged Filipinos to persevere in the work of evangelization and to keep bringing the faith, the good news they have received 500 years ago, to others.
“On this very important anniversary for God’s holy people in the Philippines, I also want to urge you to persevere in the work of evangelization – not proselytism, which is something else,” he said.
“The Christian proclamation that you have received needs constantly to be brought to others. The Gospel message of God’s closeness cries out to be expressed in love for our brothers and sisters,” added the Pope.
“I know that this is the pastoral program of your Church: a missionary commitment that involves everyone and reaches everyone. Never be discouraged as you walk this path. Never be afraid to proclaim the Gospel, to serve and to love,” he said.
The Mass started with a procession of an image of the Sto. Niño (child Jesus) and a replica of the Magellan’s cross.
The pontiff was joined by Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the pope’s vicar of Rome.
In the Philippines, most dioceses will launch the year-long commemoration on April 4, Easter Sunday.
In 2019, Pope Francis also led the Philippine traditional “Simbang Gabi” Mass with the Filipino community in Rome and acknowledged the role of overseas Filipino workers in the growth of Catholic Church throughout the world.
In his message after the Mass, the Pope called on Filipinos, especially those who are living abroad, to “continue to be smugglers of the faith”.
When he visited Manila in 2015, he also described how the Philippines is gifted “for it is the foremost Catholic country in Asia”.
“This is itself a special gift of God, a special blessing,” the pope said in his homily during Mass at the Luneta Park. “But it is also a vocation. Filipinos are called to be outstanding missionaries of the faith in Asia.”
Italy hosts the largest population of OFWs in Western Europe.
