WHEN POPE Francis delivered his final homily for his five-day papal visit to the Philippines, most of the attendees had been up for hours. They were drenched from head to toe, water dripping from their raincoats as they fought both chills and fatigue.

Some attendees, like 55-year-old Prisca Kawis, had to jostle the crowd as early as 1 AM just to gain access to the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, Manila, where only 700,000 were able to enter. The rest attended the Mass from the other parts of the park and its surrounding streets.

“We were originally seven,” Kawis shared. “Naghiwalay kami dahil sa dami ng tao, [may] tulukan tapos mayroon pa nung nagsasabi ng ‘Bakit nandiyan kayo? E kami ‘yong nauna? Dapat doon kayo sa likuran’ (We got separated because of the number of people who came, of the pushing of the crowd, and of those who would say, ‘Why are you in front of us when we got here first? You should stay at the back)!’”

Even volunteers like marshal Lenlen Garcia had trouble entering the premises, attributing this not only to the number of attendees but also to the limited capacity of the park’s open gates

However, not even the onset of Typhoon Amang and the hours-long waiting time could dampen the spirits of the roughly six-million-strong crowd that gathered in Rizal Park on January 18 to hear the Pope’s concluding Mass.

This Holy Eucharist was the last chance for Filipinos to see Pope Francis in the flesh during his pastoral and state visit, as it was his last engagement in the country before he returns to Rome on January 19.

Ecstatic cheers of “Papa Francisco, mahal ng Pilipino!” welcomed His Holiness, who was wearing a yellow disposable poncho, as he arrived in Luneta riding his jeepney-style papal mobile. His motorcade prior to the Mass was accompanied by a Sinulog-themed rhythm and dance, as the Feast of the Santo Niño also fell on January 18.

57-year-old Tita Padilla travelled all the way from Kalinga just to hear this Mass, saying in a mix of English and Filipino how the event was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her. Kawis and Garcia, meanwhile, both expressed their admiration of the Pope, who wants people to “focus on the peripheries.”

Julio Rivera (Eco-H ’13), a Catholic, said he felt he would be missing a big opportunity if he did not go. “Although at times it was tough to be in such a big crowd, especially when entering and exiting the venue, I often also felt that the experience was better because it was a group experience,” Rivera said.

“There were a lot of uplifting Filipinos in the crowd, and I was proud to be part of such an enthusiastic gathering,” he added.

Protect the family, the young

In his homily, Pope Francis expressed his concern in safeguarding the identity of the human family.

“He created the world as a beautiful garden and asked us to care for it.  But through sin, man has disfigured that natural beauty; through sin, man has also destroyed the unity and beauty of our human family, creating social structures which perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption,” Pope Francis said. He asked Philippine government officials to “reject every form of corruption” in a previous appearance in Malacañang.

According to the Pope, the image of the Santo Niño serves to remind the Filipino people that “we are all God’s children.”

He added, “That is why the message of the Santo Niño is so important. He speaks powerfully to all of us. He reminds us of our deepest identity, of what we are called to be as God’s family.”

The Pope then said that “we, too, need to protect, guide and encourage young people, helping them to build a society worthy of their great spiritual and cultural heritage.”

He added, “Specifically, we need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected.  And we need to care for our young people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to life on the streets.”

He had an encounter with the youth in the University of Santo Tomas before celebrating Mass in Rizal Park.

The final leg of Pope Francis’ papal visit concluded with the assembly singing “Tell the World of His Love” while bearing lighted candles.

The Pope received several words of gratitude after the Mass, including speeches from Catholics Bishops Conference of the Philippines President Socrates Villegas and Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

“You are our friend, our inspiration. You are our raincoat in the rain. Pope Francis, we love you,” Villegas said in his speech. “You are typhoon proof…You are our sunshine. We are not feeling the rain,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tagle told the Pope, “Every Filipino wants to go with you, not to Rome but to peripheries… Wherever you see the light of Jesus, remember the Filipinos are with you in spreading that light.”

Rivera found Tagle’s speech and Pope Francis’ expression while Tagle was saying it the most memorable of his experience in Luneta. “[The Pope] seemed very touched and proud. It was a very heartfelt speech with a good and important message,” Rivera said.

Historic scale

Pope Francis concelebrated the Mass with 2,500 priests.

A section of the park was closed for 500 persons with disabilities, 500 members of the urban poor sector and 500 people from the religious sector.

While the Eucharist was said in English, Pope Francis led the praying of the Apostle’s Creed in Tagalog. The Prayers of the Faithful were also recited in several local languages, including Hiligaynon, Kapampangan, Waray, Cebuano and Bikolano.

Rizal Park had about 20 communion chapels and 5,000 communion distributors. 5,000 ushers were also present to help guide the public.

Meanwhile, nearly 40,000 soldiers and police were deployed to ensure the safety and security of Pope Francis.

The last time a papal gathering of this scale occurred in the country was in 1995, when Pope John Paul II, now a saint, celebrated the Holy Eucharist for the World Youth Day.

Updated on January 25, 2015 at 12:06 AM.