‘I-Witness’ docu on Pope Francis tonight

CEBU, 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.

“I told myself, I if 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 old women 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 the photo and a letter from a 91-year-old inmate, the eldest in the facility.

On their way back to Rome, according to Kara, aside from the Papal press conference held onboard, all Filipino journalists were later called by Pope Francis. The Filipino contingent, minus their cameras, had another chance for a one-on-one meeting with the Pope for a few minutes.

Here, Kara decided to just let things flow. “I sat down, I looked at him, and all I was able to say was, ‘Thank you so much, Holy Father. As a Filipino I just want to thank you for making my people happy, for giving us joy, for inspiring us, and for giving us hope because it really means a lot for us.’ I didn’t have anything to give him so I just said ‘thank you.’”

To which, Pope Francis, as Kara vividly remembers, replied “Thank you also and please, can you also pray for me?”

And during rare occasions like this one when words are not enough to show her overflowing emotions, Kara asked the Pope if it was okay to embrace him. The Holy Father then gladly opened his arms.

Catch Kara David’s documentary special on Pope Francis this Saturday on “I-Witness” after “Celebrity Bluff.” (PR) (FREEMAN)