The Filipino community, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle , Ambassador Millie SMThomeczek and between them, Father Jun de Ocampo, take time to pose by the staircase of St. Hedwig Cathedral in Berlin. Earlier the Cardinal led a concelebrated Holy Mass to mark the occasion. An estimated 600 Filipinos attended. (Photo by Mr. Rey de Paz)
The Philippine Embassy, the Philippine Catholic Community and the Archdiocese of Berlin, on the occasion of the “30th Jubilee Year of the Philippine Community” in Berlin, hosted a two-day event with guest of honor Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, the 32nd Archbishop of Manila, from 1- 2 August 2016. Cardinal Tagle arrived in Berlin from the World Youth Day celebration in Krakow, Poland where he gave talks to thousands of participating young people.
About 600 Filipinos from all over Germany as well as neighboring countries came to participate in the two-day event which kicked off with the Cardinal´s talk at the Bernhard-Lichtenberg-Haus. It was followed with the celebration of the Holy Mass at St. Hedwig´s Cathedral in Berlin and a Filipino Community dinner-gathering. The next day, Cardinal Tagle celebrated Mass at the Heilig Geist Pfarrkirche in Bayernallee, the church which the Philippine Catholic Community has called home since 1986.
His talks revolved around the anniversary theme of “Breaking Walls that Divide”. With his Filipino and German audiences intently listening, the Cardinal touched on the subject of Mercy and Thanksgiving. He expounded on two elements of Mercy: compassion, connectedness and fidelity. Later, he also preached on the subject of thanksgiving, humility and other virtues which break barriers that divide.
On the sidelines of his visit, the Embassy arranged for His Eminence to meet with representatives of the German Caritas Association and Misereor, the German Catholic Bishops’ Organization for Development Cooperation. Both organizations raised funds for Typhoon Haiyan victims and have continuing development projects in the Philippines.
In his talk to the Filipino Community in Germany at the Bernhard Lichtenberg Hall in Berlin, the Cardinal found a listening and well-engaged audience eager to listen and meet him.
Cardinal Tagle is the current President of Caritas International, the federation of all country Caritas – Catholic relief, development and social service organizations.
On 2 August 2016, over a hundred people attended the concelebrated Holy Mass at the Heilig Geist Pfarrkirche where he preached on the virtue of humility and further enjoined the community to continue to love, understand and accept one another.
The visit to Berlin was the Cardinal’s first encounter with the Filipino Catholic communities in Germany. Both the Philippine Embassy and the Berlin Philippine Catholic Community Group under the chaplainship of Fr. Jun de Ocampo, SVD, cooperated to make the visit possible. The Archdiocese of Berlin also extended hospitalities.
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