Pilgrimage to Italy

CLIFTON  There’s a term of endearment for Pope Francis by Filipinos that the Pope still remembers from his pilgrimage to the Philippines in 2015. They called him “Lolo Kiko” and when Elmer Maximo, a parishioner of Sacred Heart in Rockaway, met the pope in Rome last month, he referred to the pope as “Lolo Kiko.” In response, the Pope gave Maximo a special blessing for him and his family. “Lolo means grandfather,” explained Maximo. “Kiko is a nickname for the name Francesco to Filipinos.”

Maximo was part of an eight-member group of the Diocesan Commission for Catholic Filipino Ministries (DCCFM), who traveled to Italy on pilgrimage visiting Rome, Lanciano, San Giovanni Rotondo and Assisi from April 22 to 29. They met Pope Francis at a private audience with the Catholic Biblical Federation, which marks its golden anniversary this year.

For 50 years, the Catholic Biblical Federation has sponsored the distribution of bibles to places around the world such as the Pacific, the Americas, Oceania and Africa. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila in the Philippines, serves as president of the federation and invited the diocesan pilgrims to attend the audience.

Mila Burdeos, president of the DCCFM and director of the Diocesan Mission Office, said, “We did not expect to attend the private audience and meet the pope. We felt so blessed.”

The private audience took place at the Vatican’s Clementine Hall. The Pope said to the audience: “The Word brings God’s breath into the world. The Word of God is alive. It does not die or even age. It remains forever and it is the Holy Spirit, the life giver, who loves to work through Scripture.”

Afterward, the audience, including the diocesan pilgrims, got to meet the Pope. Maximo, who serves as vice president of the DCCFM, said, “This was a great experience and it made me realize that each one of us is called to be more holy. We are called to unite together as Christians and do this without cell phones, without the internet but to build human relationships with people.”

During the weeklong pilgrimage, the diocesan pilgrims stayed at the Pontificio Collegio Filipino, which is home to Filipino clergy who are studying in Rome. For the past few years, the DCCFM has supported the college and stayed at the invitation of Father Greg Gaston, rector, who thanked the pilgrims for their constant support.

While the private audience with the Pope was the highlight of the pilgrimage, the DCCFM members made several day trips to other holy places include Lanciano, which is the location of the first Eucharistic miracle. “A monk had doubts about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist,” Maximo said, “During Mass when he said the words of Consecration, the bread and wine changed into flesh and blood.” Today, the relic is on display at the Church of St. Francis in Lanciano.

They also visited Assisi, home of St. Francis and St. Clare, and Padre Pio’s Shrine, a saint to whom many Filipinos have a great devotion. Burdeos said, “it was my dream to see the Padre Pio Shrine. In 2001, I remember my younger brother was sick after having an allergic reaction. A priest and nun came to bless him and they prayed to Padre Pio. He was healed and I was glad I got the chance to thank him at his shrine.”

The pilgrimage has inspired the DCCFM to continue its mission to serve Filipinos in the Diocese and beyond. They are already planning the annual Mass in honor of two Filipino martyrs — St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St. Pedro Calungsod, which will be held on Sept. 22 at 3 p.m. in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. They invited Cardinal Tagle to the Mass and hope he is able to make it. Later in the year, they will continue to coordinate the annual diocesan-wide Simbang Gabi novena during the Advent season.

Cora Banag, who serves as treasurer of the DCCFM and is a parishioner of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Passaic, also attended the pilgrimage. “It was wonderful to travel on this pilgrimage together as friends,” she told The Beacon. “I feel closer to them and to my faith. I still can’t describe the feeling of being in Italy and meeting the Pope. It still hasn’t sunk in.”