I-Witness docu on Pope Francis

MANILA, Philippines - Tonight, relive the blessed moments of Pope Francis’ five-day apostolic visit in the country as Kara David recounts her awe-inspiring journey with the Holy Father in I-Witness on GMA 7.

While others may consider the recent Papal visit as her biggest coverage to date, for Kara it was something more. “I was coming from the idea that this is the biggest coverage of my life but more than that, this is a spiritual journey on my part,” says Kara. 

It was barely three weeks before the Papal coverage when Kara learned that she was included in the list of accredited journalists who will join the Pope’s visit to Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

Immediately, Kara did a lot of research, even asking a number of priests about protocols and having a crash course on basic Italian language. 

But despite all these, Kara still felt ill-equipped for the task until her father gave her an important piece of advice — that is to let the heart do the job.

“Maybe I was really preparing my mind too much that I forgot about my heart. So I went to a retreat organized by the CBCP and this helped me a lot,” shares Kara. “But apparently, nothing really prepares you for the Pope. I was speechless when I met Pope Francis for the first time on board the Papal plane.”

Kara reveals that when Pope Francis shook her hands, everything that she planned to say just vanished. She even needed to be reminded to give the Holy Father the cross that she was holding. 

“Sabi ko sa sarili ko, if I were to ask Pope Francis for something, I wouldn’t ask anything for myself because I feel I’m already blessed with so many things. Instead, it will be something for the lolas in the Women’s Correctional because they have zero chances of seeing the Pope,” explains Kara who handed Pope Francis a beaded cross handmade by the inmates inside the Women’s Correctional facility together with a letter and photo of 91-year-old inmate Lola Petra Lokingan, the eldest in the facility.

Catch Kara David’s documentary special Si Lola Petra at Santo Papa tonight after Celebrity Bluff.