(First of three parts)
With his inimitable sense of humor, Pope Francis called Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Rome, especially the women, as “smugglers of faith” in his homily during the celebration at the Vatican of the 500
th Anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines on March 14. He thanked the Filipino community who attended the liturgical services commemorating the event for “the joy you bring to the whole world and to our Christian communities.” His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, in his response to the Pope, gave statistical flesh to the complimentary words of the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church: “We bring you the filial love of Filipinos in the 7,641 islands of our country. There are more than 10 million Filipino migrants living in almost 100 countries in the world. They are united with us this morning.” I was glad that, thanks to the EWTN TV network, I was one of those united with that small Filipino community who were lucky enough to be physically present in St. Peter’s Cathedral to listen to the Pope’s message.