Ordinary people keep relics of holy encounters

A teacher kept the rosary that Pope John Paul II handed to her. A furniture maker still has the regal gold chair where the pontiff once rested. A cook who prepared a feast for the pope displays the tableware that the pope used — all still unwashed 10 years on.

In high-profile visits to the Philippines in 1981 and 1995, charismatic Pope John Paul II met powerful church and government leaders but also touched the lives of ordinary folk who kept relics of the treasured encounters.

Leopoldo Gredonia, a 56-year-old cook, said he was lucky to have been picked to cook dinner for the pontiff when he visited Manila in January 1995.

"He was my most important customer," he said.

With a gang of assistants and waiters, Gredonia set up at a residence where the Pope stayed with his 50-strong Vatican entourage. He recalled the oriental delights that simmered in his wok that day: grilled fish, sautéed broccoli, fried beef tenderloin, tempura shrimp and creamy seafood soup.

The pope’s security men trusted him, he said, allowing him to bring the food "straight from the wok to his table, without checkpoints."

In what he called the greatest compliment in his 22-year career, Gredonia said the Pope polished off everything that he was given, wiping his white plate clean even of the garnish on the side.

While thousands of people waited outside for a fleeting glimpse of the Pope, "I was there around him, very near, watching him eat what I cooked," Gredonia said.

After dinner, the Pope called out the whole crew, thanking them and blessing each with the sign of the cross.

When his boss broke the news of the pope’s death over the weekend, Gredonia said he quietly wept.

He and other cooks who served the Pope offered a brief prayer in the upscale Shangri-La restaurant where they work, and where the pope’s unwashed plate, cutlery, wine glass and smudged napkin are still on display to remind them of the moment.

Memorable moment

ony Adriano made several pieces of furniture for the 1995 papal visit, including a gold, cushioned chair upon which the pontiff sat as he addressed a huge crowd. Adriano allowed the chair to be displayed in a Manila church, but kept a rosary and a medallion that the pope drew from his pocket and handed to him.

Adriano said he designed and furnished a "sacristy van" — an air-conditioned container van used by the pope as a resting and dressing room in a seaside park where he appeared before 4 million Filipino devotees.

In what he called the most memorable moment in his life, Adriano said the pope tapped him on the shoulder and head, saying "Be brave, the Lord loves you,"

The papal items that he kept — including a signed photo with the pope and a cushioned kneeling pad — "were relics that I was holding on to so I can remember him, the moral values that I learned from him, about reaching out to the poor," Adriano said.

Hearing of the pontiff’s death, Adriano said he "felt like I lost a father. I looked up to him as a model."

English teacher Giovanna Fontanilla was praying at home for the Pope’s health when he died. She wept, holding the rosary that he gave her in 1995.

Fontanilla said the pope embraced and blessed her after she knelt and kissed his hand at a grandstand in the church-run University of Santo Tomas.

The encounter changed her, brought her closer to God and bolstered her faith, although the Pope’s words got lost in the magic of the moment, she said.

"When you meet the Pope, who is a man of God, the holiness that he radiates is something that you will always remember. It’ll be imprinted in your mind," she said.

"I cried because he would no longer be with us physically, but he’ll always be an inspiration."

Pope Mobile in QC

In Quezon City, the Our Lady of Annunciation Parish (OLAP) is keeping the memory of Pope John Paul II alive through a custom-built, bullet-proof van which he used during his visit in the Philippines in 1995.

The "Pope Mobile," which has become a symbol of the Papal visit, is often borrowed by the Quezon City parish church to be used for religious activities during its annual fiesta.

Minutes after the death of the Pope was announced last Sunday, people from all walks of life rushed to the church to "feel the presence of the Pope" by touching the vehicle, which is parked in front of the church along Mindanao Avenue.

"Patay na ang Papa pero buhay siya sa alaala namin. We can feel his presence inside the van," said Boy Maderazo, sacristan mayor of the church.

Maderazo said the Pope Mobile, which was custom-built by Francisco Motors, is would be with the parish for 15 days to be used in various religious activities during the fiesta next week.

The white van, which still sports the official seal of the Vatican, has become an instant "pilgrimage site" for Quezon City residents.

Christopher Morin, care taker and security guard of the church, said the people feel blessed that the vehicle, which they consider as their material link to the pope, is at the parish.

He said motorists usually slow down and often stop to say a prayer upon sight of the vehicle.

Favorite church

The Redemptorist Church in Baclaran, Parañaque City meant a lot to Pope John Paul II, just like the Filipino people who gave him a warm and cheerful welcome in his visits to the country.

It was in this church that Karol Joseph Wojtyla said his first Mass in the Philippines when he was still a cardinal in 1976.

Fr. Rey Culaba, resident priest of the Redemptorist Church, said that at the airport then Cardinal Wojtyla had asked his taxi driver to bring him to the nearest church where he could say Mass.

The driver drove him to the Baclaran church, where he gave a sermon to people attending the weekly Wednesday Mass.

"He was happy when he saw many people attending the Mass. And then we told him that the devotion of Catholics to this church has been part of the culture, making him even happier," Culaba said.

The priest said the Pope would often check on developments at the Redemptorist Church and share his experience.

"When I went to Vatican, I met the Pope again. I told him that I was from Redemptorist Church and he let me stay at the papal chapel. That was how he valued the church," Culaba said.

The priest said the Pope’s Baclaran experience may be one of the things that brought him closer to the Filipino people. – Perseus Echeminada, Edu Punay