Filams to sing at Papal Mass

April 17, 2008  --  Got something to say?
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popebenedic.jpgBy Jennie L. Ilustre
WASHINGTON D.C. – Two Filipino Americans will have the distinction of singing at the mass to be officiated by visiting Pope Benedict XVI at the National’s baseball stadium here on April 17.
The two singers are Marylou Gonzales, a cantor since the late 60s at St. Joseph parish in Herndon, Virgina and another unidentified Filam singer. They will sing the Pilipino version of “Jesus, My God and My All” during the communion part of the Mass. Four different choirs with a total of some 600 singers will be singing other communion songs.
“It’s a special blessing to be a part of the papal mass,” Marylou said. “There were 80 of us who rehearsed at St. Camillus church in Maryland, and I sang with a Filipino American guy from Sterling, Virginia,” she said in a phone interview on April 4. “We’ll have our main practice on April 16, the day before the papal mass.”

Among the lucky Filipino Americans who got a free ticket to the Papal mass is Ed Tiong, head of the Filipino Ministry in Northern Virginia. He said he would attend the mass with his son Paolo Miguel, age 9. Tiong said in a phone interview April 1 he was very surprised and elated when he got a call from Fr. Richard Mullins, director of the Multicultural Ministries of the diocese of Arlington, in Virginia. Another lucky ticket holder is AJ Magalong, son of Sylvia Magalong and 8th grader at Holy Spirit CCD in Northern Virginia who won a ticket to the papal mass at a school raffle.
Ed is the founder and coordinator of the Filipino Ministry of Northern Virginia, which conducts evangelization and promotes Filipino traditions such as “Simbang Gabi” in the diocese. The group was founded in 2000 under the auspices of the Office of Multicultural Ministries.
Ed’s group and volunteer leaders from 25 parishes are included in the “Welcome Pope” video being prepared by the Arlington diocese that will be presented to the Pope as part of the program on April 17.
Ed had a nice seat “in the middle” when Pope John Paul II said a mass during his second trip to the U.S. in 1995 at Camden Yards, in Baltimore, Maryland.
He and his pastor Fr. Sean Rosseau are currently studying Pope Benedict’s book, “The Apostles,” a collection of teachings given during his weekly general audiences from March 15, 2006 to February 14, 2007.
“Pope Benedict XVI comes from the unbroken lineage of succession, starting from St. Peter to his 266th papacy,” he stressed.
Orly Barbosa, extraordinary minister of the Holy Eucharist, lector with wife Ruby and chairman of the finance committee at St. Veronica’s parish in Chantilly, Virginia. He’s also Suntrust Bank vice president for the commercial and automotive division.
He said in a phone interview, “ The US is one of the biggest Catholic communities in the world,” citing one of the reasons for the Pope’s visit.
“Another is to reiterate the Church’s Catholicism, which is the sum total of beliefs,” he added. “Some people are cafeteria Catholics, who pick and choose what to follow and what to believe. The Pope, then Cardinal Ratzinger, was Pope John Paul II’s enforcer of the faith, and I tend to say ‘Amen’ to this set of beliefs.”
The Pope will be riding the Popemobile, the Pope’s white bullet-proof vehicle, so people will be able to catch a glimpse of him. At least two Popemobile routes are being planned “on at least two occasions on April 16, and on April 17.”
On April 16, the Pope will celebrate his 81st birthday. At 10:30 a.m., he will meet with President Bush at the White House. At 5:30 p.m., he will be at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in the U.S., to meet with the bishops from across the country.
On April 17 At 5 p.m., he will address Catholic educators at the Catholic University of America. Present will be presidents of 200 Catholic colleges and universities, and also education leaders from 195 dioceses.
At 6:30 p.m., he proceeds to the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center to meet with interfaith leaders. He leaves for New York on April 18, for a 10:45 a.m. address at the UN.
He will also celebrate the third anniversary of his election to the papacy. He will celebrate a mass for priests, deacons and the religious at the St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
He will also meet with the ecumenical leaders at the St. Joseph Church in Manhattan on April 18. In the afternoon, he will be with children with disabilities at St. Joseph’s Seminary Chapel. He will then attend the youth and seminarian rally on the grounds of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers.
WASHINGTON- Thousands of Filipino Americans are expected to join in the welcome for Pope Benedict XVI when he visits here and New York from April 15-20.
President George W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush and top church officials will be on hand at Andrews Airforce Base in Maryland a 5 p.m. April 15 to personally welcome the pontiff on his arrival on US soil aboard his Alitalia flight dubbed “Shepherd One”.
The Catholic Church says that those who have not been fortunate enough to get a ticket to the masses that the Pope will officiate in DC, will have a chance to see him when he rides the “Popemobile” while traveling from one area to another. The church says the exact route that the Popemobile will take will be announced later.
The Catholic Bishops Conference said “ there will be several opportunities for the general public to welcome the pope as he travels in the Popemobile. Created for his predecessor, Pope John Paul, the customized, bullet-proof vehicle allows for as much visual contact as possible between the pontiff and member’s of the public who gather to get a glimpse of him.”
Also at the airport to welcome the Pontiff are Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Vatican nuncio to the United States; Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, who is USCCB president; Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington; and Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services.
On the morning of April 16, Pope Benedict will meet with Bush at the White House, and the general public will be able to see the pope as he leaves there and travels across town, the USCCB said.
The next opportunity would be when the Pope will travel to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in another part of the city. At the shrine he will celebrate vespers and meet with the U.S.bishops.
At 10 a.m. on April 17, the Pope celebrates Mass in Nationals Park, the first non-baseball event at the new stadium.
At 5 p.m. he will address the heads of more than 200 U.S. Catholic colleges and universities at Catholic University. Then the Pope will travel across campus to the Pope John Paul Cultural Center for an early-evening interfaith meeting with Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims and representatives of other religions at 6:30 p.m.


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