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'That yellow raincoat': Romualdez gives final goodbye to Pope Francis
'That yellow raincoat': Romualdez gives final goodbye to Pope Francis
At A Glance
- -House Speaker Martin Romualdez paid one final tribute to the late Pope Francis, who was laid to rest on Saturday, April 26 at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy.
Pope Francis (inset) holds a mass in Tacloban City, Leyte amid pouring rain on Jan. 17, 2015 (AP)
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte--House Speaker Martin Romualdez paid one final tribute to the late Pope Francis, who was laid to rest on Saturday, April 26 at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy.
Over here, Romualdez, Leyte's 1st district congressman, attended a thanksgiving mass for the Pontiff, who made a historic visit to the province 10 years ago in the aftermath of the super typhoon "Yolanda" tragedy.
“Pope Francis gave us more than hope. He showed the world how to lead with compassion. He stood with us—not just as a Pope, but as a father to the suffering. His presence gave us strength to rise," he said.
“He gave us the courage to begin again. When we felt forgotten, he remembered. When we were broken, he came to bless the brokenness. That is something no people ever forget,” he said of the Vatican leader, who passed away on Easter Monday.
Romualdez said the people’s lives were forever changed by the Pope’s visit on Jan 17, 2015.
“Ten years ago, Pope Francis did not just visit us: he stood with us, shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart. His presence was a comfort to our grief, a spark to our resilience and a reminder that even in the darkest storms, the light of compassion can shine through,” the Speaker said.
He said no amount of words or passage of time can ever match the Pope’s gesture toward residents of Tacloban and of the entire Eastern Visayas.
“Ang kanyang pagyakap sa ating lungkot ay nagsilbing paalala ng pagmamahal ng Diyos sa mga nawalan at nasalanta ng bagyo (By embracing our sadness, he reminded those who have lost and suffered during the storm of God's love),” said the House leader.
The Speaker also reflected on the historic image of the Pope celebrating mass at the New Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport tarmac here under stormy skies in a yellow raincoat.
He said the moment became emblematic of solidarity between the Church and the suffering Filipino people.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez (Speaker’s office)
“That yellow raincoat became our banner of faith. We saw in him not a distant leader, but a loving father: present, soaked in our sorrow, and filled with love,” Romualdez said.
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Saturday's tribute here was not only an act of remembrance but also an expression of thanksgiving. Eastern Visayans, Romualdez said, have rebuilt not just infrastructure but the very spirit of their communities since Yolanda, inspired in part by the Pope’s words and presence.
“We honor not only the man who came to comfort us, but the spirit he awakened in us: a spirit of unity, of resilience, and of boundless hope,” Romualdez said, adding “In Tacloban, we don’t just remember the Pope: we carry him in our hearts. His visit was brief, but the impact was eternal."