LOURDES, France — It has been a challenging and hectic journey since we hit the ground in Lisbon, Portugal, for the Marian Pilgrimage. My wife Jay and I are among 89 pilgrims from the Philippines. The pilgrimage, led by healing priest Fr. Joey Faller, started in Portugal, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared before the three shepherd children (Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia) at Fatima. It was perfectly timed, for it was around this time that the apparitions happened.
Aside from the religious aspect, Portugal, to us Filipinos, has historical significance. Ferdinand Magellan, whom King Philip of Spain commissioned, was Portuguese. Portugal and Spain were the superpowers that circumnavigated the world in search of spices but ended up colonizing islands and spreading Christianity. Often, they ran into conflict. Since they were both Christian nations, in 1518, under the authority of Pope Alexander VI, they divided the world between themselves in the Treaty of Tordesillas. This, however, has been refuted in recent times.
The Marian Pilgrimage has brought millions of devotees to Portugal from all over the world. The procession, marked by the recitation of the rosary in various languages, including Filipino, saw a sea of people, which, by my estimate, was about a million. For Portugal, that spells a bonanza. For the pilgrims, it is fulfillment. I saw thousands of people with disabilities and many who came seeking healing for themselves and others.
Here in Lourdes, another throng of pilgrims flocked to the very spot where Mother Mary appeared before St. Bernadette. As a shepherd child, Bernadette had a series of visions of the Virgin Mary in the Massabielle grotto, which later led to the founding of the Shrine of Lourdes. It dawned on me why the Blessed Virgin appeared only to shepherd children barely in their teens. Perhaps it had to do with their childlike innocence and honesty. They speak the truth and of the truth, so their accounts of the apparitions had survived centuries of human events and time itself.
After fetching what is believed to be miraculous water that gushes out of the side of the rocky mountain next to the shrine, I sat on a bench for a brief respite. An elderly couple joined me on the bench and introduced themselves as a Puerto Rican and a Venezuelan. I told them that I was from the Philippines. Their faces brightened as they gushed, "Ooh, Miss Universe." Yes, I replied, we have several Miss Universe, but you have more.
I asked them what else they knew of the Philippines. They promptly replied, pineapple, bananas, and Duterte. To compliment them, I said our Cavendish banana seedlings had come from their region and that we, particularly in Davao, where I was from, were now the second biggest exporter next to them. When I told them that I was from the city of Duterte, they had a hearty laugh, then we shook hands as they went to fetch water to bring home to Venezuela.
It's amazing how faith in God and the Blessed Virgin Mary can unite people from all corners of the globe in seamless harmony without barriers.
It's a sad irony, however, that the Holy Land of Israel is under siege by extremist forces that rend the unity among nations. People who cannot live in peace for reasons we cannot comprehend.
Prayers for peace not only in Israel but also in Ukraine and Russia, as well as for the victims of the earthquake in Afghanistan, reverberated at every pilgrimage site. It was moving — seeing and listening to supplications for peace in these troubled lands.