8 Light Moments with Pope Francis in PHL

The lighter side and sense of humor of Catholic church’s leader Pope Francis naturally came out during his activities here in the Philippines.

As a person who has the highest rank in the Catholic church worldwide and as a leader of a state, it is unusual for people to see such person to do some gestures in public that will prove that this high-ranking person is still human.

Lolo Kiko, Filipinos’ endearment to Pope Francis (“Lolo” means grandfather and “Kiko” is the Filipino nickname for Francisco), never fails to show some gestures that make him more adorable to Filipinos.

Here are some of those adorable moments of Lolo Kiko in his first three days in the country:

1.) Lolo Kiko peeking through plane window

After Sri Lankan Airlines, the carrier that brought Pope Francis to Manila on Thursday (January 15), Lolo Kiko then was very excited to kick off his visit here. He was seen peeking through plane window. He can’t wait to step out of the plane!

2.) Lolo Kiko catching his white skullcap

Stepping out of the plane when it landed at Villamor Airbase here from Sri Lanka, strong wind welcomed Pope Francis where he lost his skullcap. Lolo Kiko tried to catch the skullcap, but unfortunately he failed to do so. Then he just smiled…fortunately.

3.) Hugging Cardinal Tagle

Pope Francis can’t help to show how excited he was seeing Manila’s Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle! Cardinal Tagle was one of the members of the entourage welcoming the Pope. Lolo Kiko and Cardinal Tagle are good friends even before Pope Francis assumed his position.

4.) Asking “Do you love me?” to the crowd of religious

“Do you love me?” Pope Francis asked priests and nuns as a start of his homily at the Manila Cathedral. The crowd happily answered Lolo Kiko “Yes!” then he, again, flashed his trademark smile.

5.) Trying to do hand signals or sign languages

6.) From Malacañang Palace to Manila Cathedral, Pope Francis spotted a man doing “thumbs-up” then he also responded a thumbs-up. Then Lolo Kiko keeps on doing this hand sign in his motorcades.

7.) In his meeting with families at Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena where he met a family with a deaf-mute parents, Pope Francis tried to do the sign language of “thank you” by posing his hands in an “amen” position and bowing his head. But Lolo Kiko did it wrong. The crowd laughed. When he was told that his sign language was wrong, he — again — smiled and laughed. He then tried to make it right.

8.) Before leaving the stage of the MOA Arena, Cardinal Tagle taught Pope Francis the hand sign for “I love you”. Then they both did “I love you” sign to the crowd.

Pope Francis in yellow raincoat

Strong wind loves Pope Francis! In his visit to typhoon-hit Tacloban City, a tropical storm signal number two welcomed Lolo Kiko. The typhoon brought rain to Tacloban where Pope Francis celebrated a Holy Mass. This made him put on a yellow raincoat while celebrating the Mass.

Pope Francis on Monday was en route to Vatican via Philippine Airlines after concluding his five-day state and apostolic visit in the Philippines. (PNA) By Kris M. Crismundo CTB/KMC