SW News: Following the thanksgiving Holy Mass presided over by Pope Francis to mark 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the former archbishop of Manila, conveyed his gratitude to the Holy Father. “We bring you the filial love of Filipinos in the 7,641 islands of our country,” he said. Cardinal Tagle stated that the Filipino community “treasures” the Holy Father’s concern for them.

“The coming of the Christian faith to our land is God’s gift,” said the cardinal. He noted that the Philippines has the third largest number of Catholics in the world.  “We attribute the enduring faith of the Filipino people only to God’s love, mercy and fidelity, not to any merit of our own,” he added.

Cardinal Tagle stated that the faith of the Filipino Christians has been “one of the sources of hope” whenever they faced poverty, economic and political turmoil, natural disasters and even the present pandemic situation.

He said that Christian Filipino migrants across the world are sharing their faith and that they find their strength in Jesus in times of loneliness. “When we miss our families, we turn to the parish, our second home. When there is no one to talk with, we pour our hearts to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and ponder His word,” he said.

Concluding his words to the Holy Father, Cardinal Tagle said that when the Filipino migrants in Rome miss their grandfather, they are comforted by the knowledge that they have a Lolo Kiko near them.