DLSU awaits invitations for involvement in papal visit

Many Filipinos will welcome 2015 with high hopes, since the new year will start off with Pope Francis’ visit to the country from January 15 to 19. With the theme “Mercy and Compassion”, the main purpose of the visit is for the highest leader of the Catholic faith to comfort typhoon Yolanda and Bohol earthquake victims.

Pope Francis has been well-known because of his candidness and unexpected approach to different kinds of people. Lasallian Pastoral Office (LSPO) Director Andylyn Simeon shares that Pope Francis would usually deliver a spontaneous homily and would even tell jokes in between every time he would preside over masses. Pope Francis also holds a masters degree in chemistry, and he previously taught literature, philosophy, psychology and theology before becoming one of the world’s most powerful and influential people.

Simeon says that this visit is unique compared to past papal visits because unlike the previous visits, the pope personally decided to visit the country to reach out to last year’s typhoon and earthquake victims. Pope Francis will be visiting Metro Manila and Tacloban, Leyte. On Jan. 18, the pope will preside over a mass at the Quirino Grandstand.

Simeon shares that the last time a pope visited the country was back in 1995, when Pope John Paul II celebrated the World Youth Day in the Philippines. “It’s already been 20 years, so its about time that the pope visits us. It’s a good thing that he will also go to Tacloban. No pope has gone to Tacloban yet, since they usually frequent Cebu or Manila.” he furthers.

Patiently waiting

As of press time, the LSPO is waiting for an invitation from the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) for assistance. The role of the CEAP is to assign different sectors to handle preparations for the pope’s visit in January. Responsibilities include distributing invitations, producing publicity materials, handling crowd control, and organizing masses, among others.

“We don’t have any involvement yet, but we’ve been waiting for invitations from different organizations (such as CEAP), so we can help,” shares Simeon. He adds that the CEAP has recently distributed invitations to Catholic schools to send sixty delegates each to meet with the pope on Jan. 18 during his stay at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). If DLSU gets invited to send delegates, Simeon says that the selection process would include student representatives from offices like LSPO, Center for Social Concern and Action, Student Affairs Office, and Student Media Office, among others. “For now it is not final yet, since we haven’t received a [formal] invitation from the CEAP,” Simeon confirms in Filipino.

Keeping the faith

If the University will not be invited to directly participate in the four-day papal visit, Simeon mentions that DLSU will still contribute to through information dissemination. Sending catechetical and informational details about the pope’s visit through the DLSU Help Desk Announcement is one way for the school to be in solidarity with the rest of the country in welcoming Pope Francis to the Philippines. The LSPO head believes in the importance of raising awareness of the pope’s visit among the members of the Lasallian community.

Another way DLSU can participate in the papal visit activities is for the different University stakeholders to learn the theme songs sent and composed by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. “Here at DLSU, we’ll start learning and singing the songs during masses in the PGP Chapel, so the people in the University can familiarize themselves (of the different songs this early),” Simeon furthers.

Recently, a group of Lasallian formators from other La Salle schools formed a Lasallian contingency. The contingency is set to attend the mass at the Quirino Grandstand, also hopeful that they will be invited to the youth gathering at UST.

Year of the poor

Simeon quips that the upcoming papal visit is important, since Pope Francis will get to see for himself the resilience and determination of Filipinos after being devastated by calamities. He also recounts how the previous papal visits have restored the faith life of many Filipinos.

Mary Mendoza (III, AB-PSM) thinks that the upcoming papal visit will serve as a great opportunity for some Filipinos to return to their faith once again. “With all the pressing issues both faced by the Church and the government, it’s important for the Filipinos to reflect on what happened and try not to make the same mistakes again…the pope’s visit could inspire us to do this,” she ends.

Yari de la Cruz (II, BSA) also expresses her hopes that DLSU would be able to send a delegation to the papal visit in January. Personally, de la Cruz vows to follow the news about the papal visit come January. For her, this is one of the ways she can personify her faith. De la Cruz adds that the four-day holiday Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada declared will be put into good use if Lasallians would grab the opportunity to follow the papal visit activities, even in the comforts of their homes.

“The Church’s popularity in the Philippines is declining, many are leaving the Church, and many are not attending masses anymore. That’s why the pope’s visit could be a way to recharge our faith life,” Simeon hopes.