With a population of more than 100 million people, the Philippines is the largest Catholic country in the world. And with Pope Francis currently visiting the Asian country, the 80m Filipino Catholics are taking to the Internet and social media to share their excitement.
While the Pope’s visit to Ireland is mostly remembered by a large white cross in the Phoenix Park, and a brass sign embedded into the tarmac on a runway in Dublin airport, modern technology has made it much easier for the Philippines’ faithful to remember the Pope’s trip.
Pope-mania has swept the Philippines, with countless Filipinos sending messages welcoming the Pontiff to the country on Twitter. Since Pope Francis’ arrival, hashtags like #BlessedByThePope and #PapalVisitPH have been trending, while “Welcome to the Philippines Pope Francis” shows no sign of moving from the top spot of what’s being talking about.
How can't u love a man who radiates goodness, mercy, compassion, grace, happiness & selflessness? #BlessedByThePope pic.twitter.com/cjC2jY8OUm
— Pat delos Reyes ⟠(@patthelostreyes) January 15, 2015
But given the huge volume people expected to descend on Manila – so large that police officers have been told to wear nappies – the market for taking selfies with the Pope has exploded, without countless selfie booths in action.
The ‘Pope Selfie’ movement is seeing thousands of young people posting images of themselves with cardboard cutouts of Pope Francis, labelled with hashtags like #PopeSelfie and #BFF2015.
Speaking to the AFP, college student Jeano Rustico, who set up a ‘Pope Selfie’ booth in Manila, said the selfies were about sharing the moment. “We are bringing the youth closer to the Pope at almost zero cost,” he said.
The life-sized cardboard cutouts of the 78-year-old Pope were distributed to churches, schools and shopping centres in Manila in September, designed to whip up “papal fever” ahead of the Pontiff’s visit. Radio Veritas, a Filipino radio channel run by the Catholic church, spearheaded the campaign.
PERO GUYS I HAVE A SELFIE WITH THE POPE LOOK pic.twitter.com/hEJpyXvFBK
— pope francis stan (@cheekylwt) January 15, 2015
selfie with the pope 🌟 pic.twitter.com/qzmZSb3Gno
— Jol G. (@jolgurango) January 15, 2015
The Philippines' Catholic Church also created a free smartphone app, available on both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android systems, allowing users to send prayer requests to the pope, share photos and listen to music.
