Pope Francis Now on His Way Back to Manila

Manila (PNA) — Pope Francis’ plane took off from Tacloban City Airport at 1:07 p.m. Saturday after his Eastern Visayas trip was cut short due to Tropical Storm “Amang”.

The Pontiff, who is aboard a Philippine Air Lines (PAL) plane, was not able to have the scheduled lunch with the 30 survivors of Typhoon Yolanda and Bohol Earthquake because of the bad weather but met with them at the Palo Cathedral.

The flight is expected to last for about one hour and 20 minutes and the Pope is expected to arrive in Manila past 2 p.m.

Earlier in the day, the Pontiff was able to celebrate Holy Mass at Tacloban City Airport.

He was also able to bless the Pope Francis Center for the Poor, which is part of his itinerary during his five-day State and Pastoral visit in the country. (PNA) LAP/JS