Pope Francis has called on Filipinos to keep sharing their faith with others even amid life’s challenges as the Philippines formally opened the yearlong Jubilee on Easter Sunday.
"Thank God for the persons who have shared the faith with you and for the persons to whom you are to transmit the faith, renewing the desire to evangelize, to reach other people, and to bring them hope and the joy of the Gospel," he said in a message for the start of the celebration of the 500th year anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines.
"You are generous. You are bountiful. You know how to celebrate the feast of faith. Don’t lose that even in the midst of difficulties," added the Pope.
A CBCP News post quoted the Pope saying that the Jubilee Year is an invitation to thank God for the “gift of faith”.
“And I am a witness that you know how to transmit the faith, and you do it well, be it in your own country or abroad,” he said.
The pontiff recalled his visit to the country in 2015 particularly his Mass in Manila’s Luneta Park with a massive attendance of about six million people.
“Thank you for the profound sense of family, of community, of fraternity, which keeps you united, which keeps you firm in faith, joyful in hope, prompt in charity,” he said.
“All of you, pilgrim people of God in the Philippines, pastors and faithful, are also people who know how to accompany Jesus, the Nazarene, along the way of the Cross,” he said.
Pope Francis then reflected on the many difficult moments that Filipinos suffered from earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic eruptions and the prevailing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
But in spite of “all the pain and devastation,” he said that Filipinos have known “how to carry the cross and to continue walking.
“You have suffered much but also you have risen up one time after another,” he said, as he asked Filipinos “to continue working, reconstructing and helping one another”.
Sunday’s activities include simultaneous opening of the “Jubilee Doors” in all the cathedrals and opening of the quincentennial celebration in parishes across the country.
In the Archdiocese of Manila, Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo opened the Jubilee of the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros.
"We will receive plenary indulgence when we visit these jubilee churches for the entire year. Let us schedule our visits to these churches when the restrictions are relaxed," he said.