MANILA, Jan. 17, 2015—For a middle-aged mother from Cebu, having to wait hours and walk long distances were nothing compared to the reward lying ahead of her: seeing His Holiness in person.
The Holy Father poses with little Swiss Guards at the Manila Cathedral just before the holy Mass with over a thousand clergy and religious, Jan. 16, 2015. (Photo: Johann Mangussad)
“I saved money to buy plane tickets for this event … I cannot afford not to see Pope Francis,” she told CBCP News in an interview.
Tagging along her two teenage daughters, housewife Imelda Aton flew all the way from Lapu-Lapu City Wednesday, Jan. 16, in order to catch a glimpse of the Holy Father at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros where he presided over a Mass for the clergy and the religious, as well as the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay for an encounter with families.
“We have little chance of meeting Pope Francis in Leyte although it’s nearer our place. Besides, we have nowhere to stay there unlike here in Manila where we could spend days at my sons’ houses in Quezon City.
According to her, seeing the Vicar of Christ himself even from afar meant all the world to her.
Aton explained that as a Catholic and a devotee of the Child Jesus, she considered it her duty to see the head of her Church.
She lamented, however, that they will not be making it to the open-air Mass at the Quirino Grandstand on Sunday, because she and her children are scheduled to leave Manila right away.
“As much as I would like to be a part of the papal crowd in Luneta, I cannot miss the Sinulog,” she added. (Raymond A. Sebastián/CBCP News)
