A date with a Fly-in nun

Ground-breaking, April 2012

Some 4 years ago Sr. Angelina, saw in her dream the image of Mary, Queen of Peace in a savannah of her hometown, Gulu, Uganda.  To her recollection, Mary was telling her to look for a suitable place to build a school.  She eventually found a land that resembled what she saw in her dream;  her congregation acquired it then started to build makeshift structures and called the place, Mary Queen of Peace Primary School.  At the ground-breaking, there were only two of us and we scattered soil given to her as a souvenir from Jerusalem.

Mary, Queen of Peace at the EDSA Shrine

In December of last year,  Sr. Angelina traveled to the Philippines as my personal guest and the first item on the itinerary that I prepared for her was to hear Mass at my neighborhood church, the EDSA Shrine.  It was only then that I learned that the official name of the church is Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace.

What a coincidence!

Bringing a gift from the African nuns

Sr.  Angelina knew only one other person in the Philippines, Fr. Lorenzo Carraro, of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ).  I thought I would have difficulty finding him for her but the first person I asked gave me Fr. Carraro's contact details right away.

It seemed that the angels were at work!

Fr. Lorenzo, an Italian,  spent 23 years (of his 50 years as priest) in Uganda.  He was subsequently assigned to Manila and has lived in the Philippines for the past 15 years.  He has written a book entitled Mission Across the Continents, and has received awards for his journalistic contributions.

It was heartwarming to witness the reunion of Sr. Angelina and Fr. Lorenzo!

The East meets West

The Manila Oceanarium was a spectacular place of interest for a native of landlocked Uganda.  Sr. Angelina enjoyed the family of sea lions and the kaleidoscope of colors of the marine life on display.

She actually thought that we were several leagues under the sea

Our visit to the Malacanang Palace Museum was the first time for me. Although at its nascent stage, the museum was well curated.  We were lucky to have the company of a Palace staffer, who provided footnotes to what the museum tour guide was saying.  For example, there was the huge table made of hardwood that was given as a gift to President Manuel Quezon by inmates of the Iwahig Penal Colony who were granted presidential pardon in the '40's. There was also this  collection of hardbound books that were previously owned by Napoleon Bonaparte's wife, Maria Louisa, bought at an auction by former Palace occupants in the '70's.

The Malacanang Palace museum library

Also, first time for me was the Intramuros or Walled City tour, guided by Carlos Celdran, who was recently in the limelight.  The trial court found Celdran guilty of offending religious feelings when he appeared as Fr. Damaso and "interrupted" the Mass at the Manila Cathedral.  His tour, Walk This Way, is both intriguing and hilarious.  Assisting Carlos Celdran are his "tour guide yayas" who never fail to serve him drinking water when his voice starts to get hoarse.

The nationalism of Carlos Celdran

It was not meant to be part of the itinerary, but my daughter went with her friend to do Christmas shopping in Divisoria.  They were quite happy to bring along Sr. Angelina.  They made her eat in Chinatown, and ride in a train and jeepney.  The sea of humanity that greeted them in those places was similar to the dense crowd that one experiences in downtown Kampala, Uganda.  The overwhelming devotion to the Black Nazarene made Sr. Angelina conclude that Catholicism in the Philippines was active.  The life size statue of St. Padre Pio in Libis also enthralled Sr. Angelina to no end.

The Black Nazarene, Quiapo Church

Other than the religious and cultural tours, we brought Sr. Angelina to the place where Philippine banknotes and coins are manufactured.  She considered it an unforgettable experience to see how money is made.  It is a pity that she was not able to see the gold refinery operations, once the pride of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Security Plant facility.

St. Padre Pio, Padre Pio Shrine in Libis

The daytime tours were culminated by the Christmas lights display.  The lights extravaganza at the Ayala Triangle and Araneta Center were quite impressive that Sr. Angelina wanted to bring similar Christmas lights to Uganda.  I told her that she cannot enjoy the display of those lights there because they have regular brown-outs that last for days.  In her fascination, she said that if need be, she will keep their generators running just to display those lights, Christmas or not.

Christmas lights in Farmer's Plaza, Cubao,  Quezon City

All told, Manila did not disappoint  a first time visitor.

The jeepney ride