Manila and Rome are 6,500 miles apart; yet, when a survey asked Filipinos whether they trust the Holy Father, more responded "yes" than when responding to the same question regarding local politicians and even clergy.
Filipinos' instinctual love and reverence for the pope may be one reason the Archdiocese of Manila held the exhibit titled "With Leo, Our Pope," at the Manila Cathedral from June 29 to July 6.
[See a gallery of photos at the end of the article.]
It was held in honor of Pope's Day, which the Church in the Philippines celebrates annually on June 29, the same day as the liturgical Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Vatican-themed displays
The exhibit featured memorabilia from the last conclave and a few items from Pope Leo's 2010 visit to Manila when he was Prior General of the Augustinians.
The archdiocese housed the displays in the Cathedral's Pope Room under stained-glass windows of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II.
The Vatican motif went beyond the things on display. The staff decorated the space with yellow and white flowers, the official colors of the Vatican. A large bronze statue of St. Peter dressed in red robes was a reminder of the similar one in St. Peter's Basilica.
And a poster of Pope Leo XIV, head bent in humble prayer, stood on each side of the entryway. Tall statues of Sts. Peter and Paul welcomed visitors as soon as they walked into the gallery, and behind the apostles was a replica of Michelangelo's Pieta, another famous statue from St. Peter's in Rome.
The gallery was modest, featuring only three glass display cases, each approximately 6 feet long. These cases held prayer booklets from the conclave and the nine days of prayer following the death of Pope Francis, a copy of the elegantly bound Directory of Cardinals also from the conclave, and a few personal items belonging to Cardinal Jose Lazaro Advincula, the archbishop of Manila and one of the six Filipino cardinals.
The most unexpected item was an undershirt folded to show viewers its Uniqlo tag. Uniqlo is an affordable Japanese clothing brand. This detail reminds visitors that beneath the Cardinal's biretta and robes is a humble, ordinary pilgrim who needs the prayers and encouragement of his flock.
The exhibition also included Cardinal Advincula's choir dress from the conclave and the chasuble Pope Leo wore when he celebrated Mass at Manila's San Agustin Church in 2010.
Bishops: attentive shepherds, fellow pilgrims
The display might not have been enough for a museum, but it does offer much to ponder. The personal items on display, used by our hometown cardinal and Fr. Prevost, invite the faithful to see priests and bishops not as disinterested administrators, but as shepherds who long to walk among and beside us.
The cardinal's decision to display his shirt and the bag to secure his cellphone at the conclave may have been a way to communicate his fatherly closeness.
Fr. Prevost's vestments, presider's chair, and photo taken in Manila's San Agustin Church invited viewers to see the pope as someone the faithful pilgrim beside, through prayer and how we live out our faith, echoing the synodal motif of the exhibit's title.
Communion
Another theme the exhibit emphasized was communion, reminding viewers of Cardinal Batista Re's poignant reflections at the Conclave's opening Mass:
Among the tasks of every successor of Peter is that of fostering communion: communion of all Christians with Christ; communion of the bishops with the pope; communion of the bishops among themselves.
This is not a self-referential communion, but one that is entirely directed toward communion among persons, peoples, and cultures, with a concern that the Church should always be a ‘home and school of communion.'
The souvenirs from Fr. Prevost's 2010 Manila visit clue us into how this mystery of communion was already present between him and Filipinos even before anyone knew he would become pope.
This insight extends to how all baptized Christians are connected in Christ, even when we fail to notice this graced web.
Embodied graces and the history-changing power of prayer
Ultimately, "With Leo, our Pope" underlines how Christians find grace in embodied things, even the humblest things. By showcasing prayer booklets, a cellphone bag, and an inexpensive undershirt, the exhibit reminds Filipinos that the sacred often hides in mundane moments and things.
It’s grace that makes the mundane sacred, and what opens the material world to grace are souls anchored in prayer.
The entire exhibit reminded viewers that what makes papal elections momentous is not the worldly power they bestow on the chosen candidate, but the outpouring of grace they enable and witness. The conclave was an event rooted in listening intensely and communally to the voice of God. The joy, peace, and hope that have awakened in many of us since coming to know Pope Leo prove that the cardinals’ prayer has made, and will continue to make, real dents in our story and the world’s.
Therefore, this Pope's Day exhibit, albeit humble and short-lived, can be read as an encouraging nudge to rediscover the world-changing power of prayer. In this way, it can inspire us to seek God's presence with greater frequency and commitment.
