PHILIPPINES
Rappler
Aries Rufo
Jan 19, 2015
AT A GLANCE
* Veteran Vaticanista John Allen cited Tagle’s 3 strong points: “an effective communicator and missionary,” as the face of the “dramatic growth of Catholicism outside the West” and “pastoral experience” as administrator of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila
* Tagle’s “social capital” was enhanced with the papal visit, and its success is sure to catch the attention of Church leaders worldwide
* But it takes more than popularity, even among peers, to be elected pope
MANILA, Philippines – Then there was that hug that ignited the imagination of many Filipinos: Pope Francis embracing his Asian equivalent, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, at the tarmac.
This was shortly after the Holy Father arrived at the Villamor Airbase tarmac for a 5-day visit.
Uncannily, that embrace between the 78-year-old Pontiff and the 57-year-old Archbishop of Manila resembled the special set of stamps issued by Philpost to immortalize the historic papal visit.
It lasted only a few seconds but it electrified many, including local members of the Church hierarchy – as if they were witnessing the present and the future of the papacy.
The prophetic scene would be replayed during the Pope’s first Eucharistic celebration at the Manila Cathedral.
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