Only those who were touched by the late Pope John Paull II could fully understand how gentle the man was. Yesterday evening I hosted a radio interview with 6 pinoy migrant workers inside the RPV studio in Rome, Italy. Three of them were domestic helpers, two were nuns, and one was a priest. Save for one, all of them were touched by the pope. Literally. They were the fortunate few who had the rare experience of being embraced by the pope.
They could not hold back the tears that rolled down their cheeks as they recollected their intimate encounter with the Pontiff and his tender touch. They said he was very fatherly and that you could not mistake the divine presence in him. They were unanimous in saying that Filipinos occupied a special place in the Holy Father’s heart. Just say “Mabuhay” to the Polish pope and he instinctively responds with his trademark smile and lifted arms.
Pope John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in 456 years. His being non-Italian made him a migrant in Italy. And because of that we pinoy migrants feel that he completely understood our sad plight. In his homily during his mass with the Filipino migrants in Rome in December 2002, the Holy Father said:
Many of you have had the chance to find employment here in Italy and have attained a standard of living that enables you to help your family members at home. For others, however – and I hope that they are few – your status as immigrants has brought you serious problems, including loneliness, the separation of families, the loss of the values handed down from the past and at times even the loss of your faith. (source)
Only a person who left his own home country, had to learn a new language, and spent a great part of his life in a foreign land, could say something as convincing as that.
After the interview I went to the Vatican to join the recitation of the rosary. I saw people, who spoke the languages of nearby and far away countries, offering candles, letters, rosaries, pictures, and countless other tiny items. Catholics and non-Catholics strangely united in prayer, bound by the same love for the first pope of the third millennium. And of course I saw many pinoy migrant workers deep in prayer at St. Peter’s Square. Like me they must have thanked God for making Karol Wojtyla so dear to Him. And like me they must have hoped that the next pope will be able to affectionately say “Mabuhay ang Filipinas”, the way Pope John Paul II always did.
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