Pope Francis has held
an open-air Mass in the Philippine city of Tacloban, which was devastated by
Typhoon Haiyan just over a year ago. Tens of thousands
braved pouring rain and strong winds brought by Tropical Storm Mekkhala to
attend the Mass. Continue..
He was due to meet
survivors of the typhoon after the mass but the storm forced the Pope to cut
short his visit.
The Pope said as soon
as he saw the catastrophe caused by the typhoon, he had decided to go to the
Philippines.
Pope Francis is
visiting the Philippines, where there are 80 million Catholics, as part of a
six-day tour of Asia.
The typhoon, which
remains the strongest storm ever recorded on land, created a 7m (23ft) high
storm surge, destroying practically everything in its path when it swept ashore
on 8 November 2013.
Around 90% of the city
of Tacloban in Leyte province was destroyed andmore than 14.5 million
people were affected in six regions and 44 provinces. About one million people
remain homeless.
Tropical
storm
Pope Francis was due
to have lunch with survivors of Typhoon Haiyan later on Saturday but he left
Tacloban four hours early because of the approaching storm and returned to
Manila.
Earlier, he apologised
to the crowds gathered at the main cathedral in Leyte province and said:
"I am sad about this, truly saddened, because I had something prepared
especially for you."
The Pope said his
pilots had told him that the weather was going to get worse. "We barely
have time to get to the aeroplane," he said.
Tropical Storm
Mekkhala, with winds of up to 130 km/h (80 mph), forced the suspension of ferry
services to Leyte and stranded thousands of travellers, according to the
Associated Press news agency.
One woman was killed
after the mass, when scaffolding near the stage collapsed, local media report.
The storm is forecast
to hit the shore of nearby Samar Island later on Saturday.
During the Mass in
Spanish, with a translation into English, the Pope spoke of the devastating
impact of Typhoon Haiyan on people in Tacloban.
He told the faithful
that "so many of you in Tacloban have lost everything. I don't know what
to say - but the Lord does… He underwent so many of the trials that you
do".
There was silence as
the many thousands here in the deeply Catholic Philippines bowed their heads in
prayer, the only noise the rain splashing onto the muddy ground beneath,
reports the BBC's Caroline Wyatt.
At
the scene: Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC News, Tacloban
The rain is pouring in
Tacloban. But that is not discouraging hundreds of thousands of people from
coming out to see Pope Francis.
Many began assembling
at the airport before sunset on Friday, standing patiently in the open all
night in their clear plastic ponchos. No umbrellas are being allowed.
One family I met had
driven 18 hours from Davao City in Mindanao. They didn't have any tickets for
the mass, but were unconcerned, only hoping to take a small part in what is the
biggest event this city has ever seen.
Tacloban is still
recovering from Typhoon Haiyan, which killed 7,000 people here just over a year
ago. Pope Francis will meet families of some of the victims. One is Dr Clara
Rosa. She lost 11 members of her family.
I asked her what it
meant to her to meet Pope Francis today. "It is like having a friend visit
you while you are grieving" she said, struggling to hold back tears.
"You are happy your friend has come, but it is for a very sad
reason."
A national holiday has
been declared in the capital for the duration of the Pope's visit.
Security is very
tight, with tens of thousands of soldiers and police deployed, after failed
attempts to kill two previous popes in the Philippines.
The centrepiece of
Pope Francis' visit will be an open-air Mass in Manila on Sunday, which is
expected to attract millions.
No comments:
Post a Comment