Five months after Francis’ visit to the Philippines, a group of artists staged a play centred on the pontiff’s “mercy and compassion”. His statements inspired the play. Loved by local Catholics, the Holy Father made “made a lot of difference in the lives of many people” during his visit.

Manila (AsiaNews) – Through a musical play based on Pope Francis’ statements on the Philippines, producer Rose Cabrera wants to spread his message of “mercy and compassion.

“From the Vatican to Tacloban – With Love, Pope Francis” is designed to reach out to the masses, young people, and typhoon Yolanda survivors.

“We are keeping our fingers crossed. We are hoping to bring this message of Pope Francis to as many young people as possible,” Cabrera explained.

Since millions of Filipinos adore the pope, the artists want to keep the momentum going and “keep the love alive” through the musical play.

“The pope has that deep compassion and love for the poor and his visit really made a lot of difference in the lives of many people, especially those from Tacloban,” Cabrera said.

Written and directed by Nestor Torre, the play, which is based on the pope’s statements, presents the reasons that moved the pontiff to visit the survivors of typhoon Yolanda.

Torre also wanted to depict the Yolanda survivors’ stories, “so that the entire viewing experience would be an interaction between victims and consoler (the pope) where they could learn valuable lessons from each other.”

• philippines
• pope
• francis
• play
• typhoon
• yolanda