Multilingual mass to be held at Luneta; Pope to speak Tagalog

While the Masses open to the public during Pope Francis' visit will be in English, the congregation that will gather at the Rizal Park and Quirino Grandstand for the concluding Mass on January 18 will hear the pontiff speak a few words in Tagalog.

In a press briefing on Monday, Fr. Carmelo Arada Jr. of the service committee on liturgy, disclosed that the profession of faith will be in Tagalog, with the Pope uttering the first two words alone

"The profession of faith, 'yung 'Sumasampalataya,' will be led by the Holy Father. Maririnig po natin ang Santo Papa na magsabing 'Sumasampalataya ako,'" he said.

After the first phrase, the congregation will recite the profession of faith along with the Pope, Arada said in a separate interview.

The concluding mass, as well as that near the Tacloban airport on January 17, will be in English—despite the Pope's admitted difficulty with the language—in a bid for the public to understand him better.

Arada said the mass "will follow the new translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal."

He told GMA News Online in a separate interview that the Pope's homily will likewise be in English.

The homily is expected to go on for about 10 minutes, while the mass, like other papal masses, will be held for about two hours, he added.

Several Filipino languages

The concluding Mass will feature the various languages and dialects of the Philippines, both in words and in music, to accompany the Filipino design of the altar.

According to Arada, the intercessions "will be prayed in the different Filipino languages," including Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Kapampangan, Cebuano, Waray, and Bicolano. Responses, meanwhile, will be in Tagalog and English.

Acclamations will be done with music, "employing also multilingual responses," since the music for the mass—composed by Fr. Manoling Francisco—"infuses both Western music and Filipino indigenous rhythms" like the Kalinga rhythm, Singkil, and Kundiman.

Francisco was also the composer for the World Youth Day festivities in 1995, which marked the second visit of now-Saint John Paul II to the Philippines. — BM, GMA News