Pope Celebrates Special Mass for Filipinos in Rome

Pope John Paul II celebrated a special Mass for the Filipino community here Sunday to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Philippine seminary in Rome.

Addressing hundreds of priests, nuns and lay pilgrims, he said the founding of the Pontifical Philippine College--an institution for the higher education of the Roman Catholic clergy--was a sign of the importance of the church in the Philippines.

“The presence here of so many priests and men and women religious is a visible sign of the vitality of the church in your land,” the Pope said in his homily.

Speaking to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square after the Mass, the Pope gave special greetings to the Filipinos.

“I thank you with all my heart for your visit to Rome.”