Marco Carvalho
– Marco Carvalho, in Tokyo
Pope Francis presided at an Eucharistic celebration for more than 50,000 people in Tokyo last Monday. In his homily, the Pope called for collaboration between religions, so that the defense of “all lives” can be proclaimed. The Pontiff also criticized the obsession of developed societies for profit, efficiency and competitiveness. The appeal was heard by Catholics of all backgrounds, in a celebration where Tagalog was also used.
To Jeffrey Torremoro and Annabelle Furukawa, the highest moment of the Eucharist that Pope Francis celebrated on Monday in one of Tokyo’s best-known sports venues could not have been any another. In a celebration in which the faithful prayed in Japanese, English, Portuguese and Vietnamese and sang in Spanish and Korean, Tagalog was also featured, with the offertory song – the hymn “Unang Alay” (one offering) – being sung in the national language of the Philippines.
The moment drew applause from the many members of the Philippine community who attended the Holy Father’s Mass at the Tokyo Dome. Filipino immigrants – more than 260,000 at the end of 2017 – are one of the pillars of the Japanese Catholic Church, alongside the Japanese-Brazilian community and the Vietnamese migrants living in the country.
Jeffrey Torremoro has been living and working in Japan for twenty years. On Monday, he skipped work so that he could attend the Eucharist that Pope Francis celebrated at the Tokyo Dome, home to the Yomiuri Giants, one of the strongest Japanese Baseball League teams. The Pope’s visit to Tokyo helped to pay off a promise Torremoro, 47, made to his mother in 2015, the year Francis visited the Philippines: “We were living here, so we didn’t have the opportunity to see the Pope when he went to Manila. His visit to Japan is a lifetime opportunity. We were supposed to go to the Vatican, to visit the Pope, but our priest told us that the Pope was coming here, so we canceled the visit. We were supposed to go there this week, with my mother,” Mr Torremoro told O Clarim.
“Sometimes, we just have to see the Pope to feel spiritually stronger. Even his image or presence makes us happy and stronger. We went to Haneda Airport to see his plane landing, because it was close to our house. And everybody that was there said they felt a different feeling. His presence alone was enough to make us happy,” the Filipino migrant claims.
Married to a Japanese citizen, Annabelle Furukawa made the short trip from Chiba, in the metropolitan area of Tokyo, in the company of about a dozen other Filipino immigrants for the purpose of praying with the Pope, an opportunity that she sees as unique: “We are married to Japanese men and we are really very happy to see the Pope. It is a very good chance for us,” Mrs Furukawa, 55, told O Clarim. “As Catholics, we would like him to appeal to world peace and to work on the conversion of those who are not yet true and sincere followers of God,” she added.