Where to get papal visit souvenir items

It's not everyday that the Philippines gets a pastoral visit from the head of the Roman Catholic Church. To celebrate this "once-in-a-lifetime" event, a lot of the faithful look for items that remind them of the occasion. 

 

Here's a list of places where you can get memorabilia to remind you of Pope Francis' visit to the Philippines: 

 

Caritas Manila

The social arm of the Archdiocese of Manila Caritas Manila offers T-shirts for P180-P300 for the papal visit. They also sell umbrellas for P150 and rosary beads for P100. All of their proceeds will be used to sustain programs for the poor.

 

Contact 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 or 0929-8343857 to order. 

 

 

Radyo Veritas 

 

Catholic radio station Radyo Veritas has a papal visit commemorative gift pack to all those who will donate P500 to the Radio Veritas Foundation Inc. 

 

The gift pack includes the following:
 

• Papal visit commemorative card 
• 30-day unlimited entertainment load powered by a video-on-demand for P250 
• Other commemorative items like the official papal visit T-shirt, foldable fan, and a hand-made wooden rosary bracelet
• Discount coupons from several participating consumer brands 

 

However, because of the huge demand, the gift packs are no longer in stock. But Radyo Veritas is already working on making the items available in major department stores. 

 

Jesuit Communications 

 

Jesuit Communications is known for its liturgical music. And for the pontiff's visit, they made an entire album for the first Jesuit pope. Titled "Mercy and  Compassion: Songs for Pope Francis," the 14-track  album features inspirational songs by Filipino artists like Aia de Leon, Noel Cabangon, Jett Pangan, Ebe Dancel, and Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle.  

 

To get a copy of "Mercy and Compassion," visit Jesuit Communications at Sonolux Bldg., Seminary Dr., Ateneo de Manila University. You can also call the Tanging Yaman store at 4265971 to 72 local 112-113, email tanging.yaman@jescom.ph, or visit the Tanging Yaman kiosk at SM Megamall. It will also be available in religious outlets and all Universal Records stores.

 

Philippine Precious Moments Collectors' Community 

 

Aside from the usual souvenir items, a gift shop in Makati has also created miniature Pope Francis dolls. 

 

Philippine Precious Moments Collectors' Community made a 12-inch Pope Francis doll that costs for P1,000. It comes with a doll box and a certificate of authenticity.

 

The doll has been available since January 1. To get your own piece, visit Precious Moments Manila Showroom in Makati, Precious Moments Lobby Shop in Century Park Hotel, and Jojo's Christmas Cottage in Aklan. For orders, reservations, and inquiries, contact (02) 887-5252 / 225-8332.

 

 

 

 

Philippine Postal Corporation 

 

The Philippine Postal Corporation has also released commemorative stamps to mark the visit of Pope Francis.

 

The collection features four designs selling at P10 each. 

 

 

Online stores 

 

For those who prefer to have their pope souvenirs delivered right at their front doorstep, many Philippine-based online stores such as OLX and AyosDito.ph also have a wide range of items that feature papal visit designs.   

 

Quiapo 

 

The papal visit also sparked the creativity of many small-to-medium entrepreneurs who made their own designs to celebrate the Pope's coming. 

 

Many street vendors in Quiapo have already started selling various Pope Francis-related items such calendars, T-shirts, and prayer booklets during the last quarter of 2014. — VC, GMA News

 

source: gmanetwork.com

 

Pope condemns Paris shooting, says stop spread of hate

 

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis condemned as "abominable" the attack on Wednesday that killed 12 people at the Paris offices of a weekly satirical magazine known for lampooning Islam, calling on everyone to stop the spread of hate.

"The Holy Father expresses his firmest condemnation of the horrible attack," chief Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said in statement.

Francis "calls on everyone to oppose every method of spreading hate" because it "radically undermines the fundamental good of peaceful coexistence of people despite national, religious and cultural differences".

"Whatever its motivation might be, homicidal violence is abominable (and) is never justified," the spokesman said, reflecting the sentiments of the pope.

The leader of the 1.2 billion-member Roman Catholic Church was "participating in the prayers and sufferings of the injured and the families of the dead", the spokesman said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Vatican's deputy spokesman, Father Ciro Benedettini, called the Paris attack "abominable because it is both an attack against people as well as against freedom of the press."  — Reuters

Pope tells cardinals to shun intrigue, cliques of a royal court

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis urged cardinals, who make up the top echelon of the Roman Catholic Church, on Sunday to shun the intrigue, gossip and cliques typical of a royal court.

Since his election nearly a year ago, Francis has often told his top aides not to live or behave like a privileged class. The eight-year papacy of his predecessor, Benedict, was marked by mishaps and missteps, which were often blamed on a dysfunctional Vatican bureaucracy and intrigue befitting a Renaissance court.

On Sunday, Francis celebrated a mass with 18 of the 19 new cardinals who were elevated to that rank on Saturday. One could not attend because of illness.

"A cardinal enters the Church of Rome, not a royal court," Francis said in his sermon, welcoming the men into the elite group that help him run the Church in the Vatican and around the world.

"May all of us avoid, and help others to avoid, habits and ways of acting typical of a court: intrigue, gossip, cliques, favouritism and preferences," he said during a solemn ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica.

It was the second consecutive day that Francis had warned cardinals to shun worldly temptations in the corridors of clerical power, either at home or in the nerve centre of the 1.2 billion-member Church.

At the induction ceremony on Saturday, which was attended by ex-pope Benedict, Francis urged the cardinals to avoid rivalries and factions. It was the first time Francis and Benedict, who resigned on Feb. 28, 2013, had been together for a liturgical celebration.

The "Vatileaks" scandal, in which Benedict's butler was arrested for leaking the pope's private papers to the media, alleged corruption in the Holy See, something the Vatican denied.

"Jesus did not come to teach us good manners or to behave as if we were at a social gathering," Francis told them.

United in simplicity and service

He asked the new cardinals to remain united among themselves and with him as they advise and help him run the Church in the Vatican and beyond in a spirit of simplicity and service.

Since his election last March as the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, Francis has attempted to infuse the Vatican and the Church with his simple style.

Last month, when he announced the names of the new cardinals, he quickly followed up with a letter to each asking that they not see their appointment as a promotion and not to waste money holding celebratory parties.

Francis, who has called for a "poor Church, and for the poor", has set the example himself. He has opted to live in a simple boarding house rather than the Apostolic Palace, and travels in a blue Ford Focus rather than a luxury car.

Cardinals are the pope's closest advisers in the Vatican and around the world. Apart from being Church leaders in their home countries, those who are not based in the Vatican are members of key committees in Rome that decide policies that can affect the lives of all Roman Catholics.

Sixteen of the new appointees are "cardinal electors" who join 106 existing cardinals who are also under 80 and thus eligible to enter a conclave to elect a pope from among their own ranks.

They come from Italy, Germany, Britain, Nicaragua, Canada, Ivory Coast, Brazil, Argentina, South Korea, Chile, Burkina Faso, the Philippines and Haiti. The non-electors come from Italy, Spain and Saint Lucia. — Reuters