Pope Francis’ candid moments at Encounter with Families in MOA

On his second day in the Philippines, Pope Francis met with families at the Mall of Asia Arena to hear about poverty, migration, and disability issues that challenge family life. Aside from hearing words of wisdom during the pope’s homily, the crowd at the Encounter with Families also saw a more relaxed and candid “Lolo Kiko.”

 

Here are some of Pope Francis’ jokes and other spontaneous moments from  the event:

 

1. He addressed the crowd in his native Spanish
 

The pope spoke in his native Spanish many times during the event. His words were translated into English by one of the members of his delegation, veering away from his prepared English speech to express himself clearly.

 

“I want to say something… but my English is so poor,” he said while the crowd laughed, understanding his situation.

 

The pope then told the families to keep on dreaming, just as parents dreamed about their unborn child while he or she was still inside the womb.

 

“Please don’t lose this ability to dream in the family,” he said.

 

2. He remembered his family
 

Everyone sees the Pope as the head of Roman Catholic Church but during the Encounter, the people were reminded that he is just like everyone else—he also belongs to a family.

 

“I remember my family, my father, my mother, my grandmother, and today, I rest in you,” he said.

 

3. He told husband and wife to remember their courtship
 

The pope also left a message to the husbands and wives among the crowd. He jokingly told them in Spanish to remember their husband or wife when they were still their boyfriend or girlfriend.

 

“If we think about husband and wife and we dream about good qualities that they have, don’t ever lose illusion of when you were boyfriend and girlfriend,” he said while laughing at his own joke. 

 

4. He likes St. Joseph very much
 

“I also would like to share something personal with you this evening, I like St. Joseph very much,” Pope Francis started.

 

He described the foster father of Jesus as “a strong man of silence.”

 

He has an image of the saint on his desk.

 

“On my desk, I have an image of St. Joseph sleeping. Sleeping, he looks after the Church,” he revealed.

 

The pope also said that he runs to the saint whenever he has a problem.

 

“When I have a problem or a difficulty, I write it on a piece of paper and put it underneath his statue so he can dream about it,” he said.

 

5. He “spoke” in sign language
 

One of the families who gave their testimonies at the event was Renato G. Cruz who shared the challenges of being deaf. Upon greeting the Cruz family after they shared their story, Pope Francis was spontaneously taught by Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle sign languages gestures to talk to the family.

 

Later, the Pope was seen waving the “I love you” sign to the deaf participants in the crowd.

 

Also, Tagle led these participants in “singing” Alleluia during the Liturgy of the Word.

 

Threats to family 

 

During his homily, Pope Francis talked about the different threats to family life such as migration, materialism, and "ideological colonization."

 

He also reminded the Filipino families to protect life from conception to natural death. 

 

Pope Francis also told the crowd at the Encounter with Families to "never lose the ability to dream." — VC, GMA News