Remembering Pope Francis

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CEBU CITY — Pope Francis once told a Cebuana lay leader that her work helping drug dependents was "very important," a moment that inspired her to continue her faith-based advocacy to help the vulnerable.

When she heard that Pope Francis passed away, Fe Mantuhac-Barino, a businesswoman and international charismatic renewal leader, stood still in silence at the Cebu Archbishop's Palace.

"I was stunned," she told The Manila Times on Wednesday, April 23, 2024. "It felt like the whole world stood still with me. It was like losing a spiritual father."

Barino had met Pope Francis three times, with each encounter becoming more personal. She now mourns his passing and hopes the next pope will be a Filipino who will continue his mission of bringing the Church closer to the poor, the needy and the wounded.

Meeting Santo Papa

She first met the Pope in 2015 during the Papal visit to Tacloban in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda. Although she saw him only from a distance, the experience deeply moved her, she said.

"He was there for the suffering. That alone said so much about who he was," she recalled.

But it was their second meeting in Rome in 2017 that forever altered the course of her life. Through Cebuano Vatican-based Monsignor Jan Thomas Limchua, Barino was introduced personally to Pope Francis.

At the time, she was quietly leading her drug rehabilitation advocacy, Surrender to God (SuGod), a faith-based program that sought to restore the dignity of drug dependents through spiritual renewal and holistic care.

"I didn't know how to greet him. I was so nervous," she said, recalling the moment with a soft laugh.

"Monsignor Limchua had to explain to the Pope what I was doing, and after hearing about SuGod, the Pope simply said in Italian, 'It is very important," she added.

Those four words struck her like divine affirmation.

"I felt that God was speaking through him. What I was doing wasn't just an initiative, it was a mission. The Pope validated that. From then on, I knew I had to carry it forward with greater faith," Barino said.

In 2023, just before her appointment to the international council of Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service (Charis), Barino met the Pope for a third and final time.

This time, she held his hand tightly.

Before Charis, Barino is a national leader of the Charismatic Renewal in the Philippines.

Also, through her project SuGod, she works with drug dependents, the homeless, the elderly, and the spiritually lost or what she calls "the wounded of society."

Her approach is deeply personal, rooted in the belief that healing begins with human dignity and the love of God.

Hopes for a Filipino Pope

Now, as the Catholic world mourns the passing of Pope Francis, Barino looks toward the future with a prayerful wish: that the next pope may be Filipino.

"I believe this is the right time," she said. "The Philippines is the third-largest Catholic country in the world. We are a nation of faith, a people formed by the Church."

She noted that the Philippines stands with the Vatican in upholding the sacrament of marriage without divorce, and a Filipino pope would not only represent the nation but also unite it.

Barino regarded Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the former Archbishop of Manila and Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, as a worthy successor.

She admired his humility, joy, and pastoral spirit, believing he embodied the essence of Pope Francis.

Barino was confident that a Filipino pope would continue Francis' vision of a synodal, missionary Church.

She emphasized that her support wasn't about national pride but about bringing the Church closer to the margins.

Barino is helping coordinate Cebu's local commemorations for Pope Francis. She joined Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and members of the Archdiocese in a memorial Mass on Friday.

Her grief remains, but so does her hope.

"Even in death, Pope Francis calls us to unity and love," she said.