Pilgrimage centers on cross presented to Pope

BALANGA CITY, Bataan, Philippines  – A cross created by a Vietnamese sculptor which was presented to the late Pope John Paul II during his visit to Morong town in 1981 will be the center of an ongoing pilgrimage in the province.                                                                                        

The pilgrimage started on April 1 and will go on until the anticipated beatification of the late pontiff on May 1.         

The cross was gifted to Pope John Paul II during his visit to the former Philipine Refuge Processing Center (PRPC) – now the Bataan Technology Park – in Morong in 1981. The late pope said Mass at the center for Vietnamese refugees, then referred to as “boat people.”

The cross will be enshrined at the St. Francis Chapel in the park.                                                                                                                                  

It was believed that the sculptor presented the cross during the offertory part of the Eucharist.

A shrine installed near the chapel shows the pope walking with a refugee family amid a violent sea.

The refugee center served as a temporary shelter for thousands of refugees fleeing the turbulence in Indochina.     

Balanga diocese Bishop Ruperto Santos said the pilgrimage started in Hermosa town and will end in the chapel. It covers 18 parishes and 11 municipalities in the province.            

The pilgrimage consists of catechism, prayers, teachings on the life of Pope John Paul II, reflections on the value of the cross, and orientation on the beatification of saints.

Pope John Paul II, who visited the country in 1995 to celebrate World Youth Day, is remembered by Filipinos as a charismatic figure.                                                              

Catholic bishops who had the opportunity to meet him shared their memories of the pope.

Lipa Batangas Archbishop Ramon Arguelles described him as “a great prophet.” Former Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said it does not matter if the late pope is canonized because he has been “a saint long since.” “Even if you do not canonize him, for me he is a saint… the fact that no pope could equal his influence,” he said.

After his death, several international news channels covered the two-week wake for the beloved pope. – With Evelyn Macairan