Babies named after Pope Francis

MANILA, Philippines - The Pope Francis mania that gripped the country during his five-day apostolic visit will continue to live as many Filipino babies were named after him.

At the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila alone, 25 baby boys and girls were named “Francis” or “Francesca” since the pontiff arrived to a jubilant crowd last Jan. 15 until he left yesterday morning.

Hospital director Ruben Flores surmised that the euphoria stirred by the papal visit had apparently impacted on Filipinos so much that they named their children after the pope.

“We all see how the Filipinos celebrated the pope’s coming here. We felt him and maybe many of our parents want his spirituality to rub off on their children too, so they named them after him,” he told The STAR.

For Maritess Soldevilla, 38, of Maricaban, Pasay City, naming her first child Francis Larry is a “blessing from God.” The boy was born yesterday around the time the pope was leaving the country.

“Our plan was to name him Mark Lauren but when the pope arrived at the Villamor Air Base, I was able see him from Gate 2. I was so excited. I could not explain the warmth that I felt. So we decided to name our son Francis Larry instead,” she explained.

She and her husband Larry were childless for six years until last year when she conceived. She believes that God had timed her pregnancy with the coming of the pope.

Gliceria Catral, 32, of Cabuyao, Laguna also wanted her firstborn to be blessed so she named him Jan Francis. The name Jan was taken from January since he was born last Jan. 18.

Catral said she initially wanted to name the boy Michael but her husband was so touched when he saw on television the mammoth crowds that the pontiff had drawn the moment he arrived in the country.

The couple personally saw the faithful teeming in Rizal Park on Sunday from the Light Rail Transit on their way to Fabella. Catral was in labor at the time.

“There were really so many people at the park. It was then when we decided to name our son after Pope Francis. We are hoping that he will be a good person when he grows up and that he will also touch many lives, just like the pope,” Catral said.

Medical specialist Maria Lu Andal, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Fabella hospital, said that “parents could be hoping that the blessing of Jesus Christ will come along with Pope Francis and using his name, these luck and blessing will traverse to their children.”

“Our patients are generally from the low socioeconomic groups so the source of income of most of the parents is limited… They are always hoping that luck will knock on their door anytime, especially for the children,” she added.

She recounted that the last time such a thing happened at the hospital was when Saint John Paul II visited the Philippines in 1995 when he was still pope.

Records showed that 12 of the 25 babies named after the pope at the Fabella hospital were girls who were mostly given the name Francesca as one of their two names. For others it was Frances.  – With Danny Dangcalan