Overseas Filipino workers held a special place in Pope Francis’ heart.

He once affectionately called them “contrabandistas de la fe” — smugglers of the faith — recognizing how their simple, steadfast witness carried the Gospel across borders, reaching hearts where formal missionaries could not.

As tributes poured in following the Pope’s passing, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) paid homage to a pontiff who redefined the Church through compassion, inclusion, and a deep commitment to healing.

CBCP resident and Kalookan Bishop Pablo Cardinal David urged the faithful to embrace grief during the Easter Octave, reminding them that “it is okay to shed tears of sorrow during this joyful Easter Octave.”

“After all, it was he who reminded us that ‘we can only see more clearly through eyes washed by tears,’” David said.

He recalled the late Pope as a leader who never shied away from the margins, choosing “the dusty road” with his people over the comfort of the center.

“Through Evangelii Gaudium and Fratelli Tutti, he reminded us that the heart of the Gospel beats most strongly where pain, poverty, and exclusion dwell,” he said.

Francis, he added, inspired a Church that listens — “one that opens its ears to the cries of the people and its heart to the stirrings of the Spirit.”

Through his vision of synodality, Pope Francis encouraged both Church leaders and the laity to reimagine Catholicism not as a fortress to guard, but as a sanctuary to share — “a field hospital — welcoming, healing, and journeying together,” David noted.

Jose Cardinal Advincula, meanwhile, highlighted the Pope’s enduring call for environmental stewardship.

“With Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum, he taught us to see the earth as our common home, entrusted to our care, especially for the sake of the generations to come,” he said.

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, 21 April, at the age of 88, at his residence in Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.