Millions of people in the Philippines, the world’s third most populous predominantly Catholic nation after Brazil and Mexico, stayed up on Christmas Eve to hear the traditional midnight Mass celebrated at churches across the Southeast Asian archipelago of 84 million people.
This was followed by a midnight meal, an inspiration for family reunions.
"Our prayer is to make this march to peace a common, unified pilgrimage, where every pilgrim sings the same tune and are stepping in the direction of a common vision of peace," Gaudencio Rosales, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Manila, said in a statement.
"The power of love is stronger than the power of evil. No crisis is so great it cannot be solved with God. In the midst of misery and problems, life is shot through with sharing and sacrificing love," said Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
The Armed Forces began observing a unilateral Christmas weekend truce on Saturday, pledging to refrain from waging "offensive military operations" against communist New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas in the spirit of the holiday season.
The Church’s message referred obliquely to the political troubles faced by Arroyo, who survived an impeachment vote in September over opposition allegations she cheated her way to victory in the May 2004 presidential election.
"We can transform our country through servant leadership, whose core trait is serving the people with integrity of heart, credible lifestyle and accountable and transparent disposition of resources," Lagdameo said.
President Arroyo devoted her annual Christmas message to the nation to acknowledge the eight million Filipinos working abroad who are expected to send home a record $10.3 billion in salary remittances this year.
"I thank you for staying the course with me and lifting up our country with your prayers and support. I give due recognition of your heroism and constancy of purpose in helping our people endure critical times, particularly in building the foundation of a strong nation," she said. — AFP