It is perhaps only fitting that Pope Francis' visit to the storm-ravaged Philippine city of Tacloban, which was almost wiped off the map by a Super Typhoon in 2013, was complicated by another incoming storm.
This time, though, the typhoon, known as Mekkhala, is a comparatively weak one, and the pope on Saturday morning local time refused to be deterred by its rains and high winds.
After all, he was making the rare visit to Tacloban, a small city, during an official trip to the Philippines, to comfort those still suffering from the devastating losses they experienced due to Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
Pope Francis flew into the windswept, soaking city, which is still being rebuilt, and celebrated a special mass in a field near the airport. He refused an umbrella, but donned a yellow poncho, much like the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims greeting him in a sea of yellow. Many in the crowd at the airport had been waiting for hours, but undeterred by the weather, still cheered and danced as he touched down.
Policemen remain in their posts along #PopeFrancisPH's motorcade route despite the bad weather | via @PopePatrollerLM pic.twitter.com/5MVSYXnWh8— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) January 17, 2015
As rain beat down hard during Mass, Pope Francis told onlookers to not let their faith in God weaken despite the destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan, which he referred to by the Filipino name of Typhoon Yolanda, according to Catholic News Service.
#PopeFrancisPH: You might say, 'But, Father, I was let down because lost everything. I respect that. But Jesus does not let us down"— Catholic News Svc (@CatholicNewsSvc) January 17, 2015
He steered away from his prepared homily, noting that he knew he needed to travel to Tacloban when he saw the extent of the disaster.
"A little late, but I'm here," he said, Catholic News Service tweeted, adding that he could not fully comfort the victims, but Jesus and Mary would.
#PopeFrancisPH: I know you have lost much. In my silence, I am with you. pic.twitter.com/lbgM0ERLP5— Catholic News Svc (@CatholicNewsSvc) January 17, 2015
The Mass was shortened due to weather.
#PopeInPH #PopeFrancisPH #PopeInTacloban A video posted by Zarah Mercado (@zynx_z) on Jan 16, 2015 at 6:17pm PST
Typhoon Mekkhala, also known as Amang in the Philippines, was upgraded from a tropical storm on Friday and is forecast to have maximum sustained winds of about 75 miles per hour, with higher gusts, when it passes over Tacloban on Friday night, according to the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center. By comparison, Typhoon Haiyan's winds were estimated to be at least 190 miles per hour at landfall, with gusts above 200 miles per hour.
Several inches of rain have already fallen in Tacloban, with 10 inches to 12 inches forecast for other areas, according to the Philippines weather agency, known as PAGASA. As of 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Tacloban, heavy rains were stalling over the city, dumping higher amounts of rainfall than initially forecast.
Weather satellite feed and forecast track of #AmangPH according to PAGASA. pic.twitter.com/T5LuTQIrJP— Mahar Lagmay (@nababaha) January 17, 2015
But nothing could stop bubbly toy store clerk Jessica Panis from seeing the pontiff in her home city of Tacloban — not a looming storm, not the long hours of waiting, not even the call of nature.
The 41-year-old who arrived 16 hours ahead of schedule and donned a diaper for the wait, wept in 1995 when she couldn't see Pope John Paul II in Manila because her family was too poor to afford the trip to the Philippine capital.
"There are so many things to be thankful for. Our house was destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan but we didn't lose anybody," Panis said.
Heavy rains over #Tacloban airport as pilgrims wait for Pope Francis' arrival #PopeFrancisPH pic.twitter.com/5rSzdVg249— Jeff Canoy (@jeffcanoy) January 16, 2015
She also wanted to thank the pope for traveling a long distance to comfort typhoon survivors like her.
Clad in red boots and carrying a raincoat, jacket, scarf, sandwiches and a tarpaulin to sleep on, Panis walked several miles with family and friends to the field where Francis celebrated Mass.
Pope, one with the people of Tacloban in wearing yellow raincoat #PopeFrancisPH #PapalVisitPH #BeFullyInformed pic.twitter.com/DYsJjSNE4L— Manila Bulletin News (@manila_bulletin) January 17, 2015
"Actually, I'm wearing a diaper," she said as she waited in a long line for a public portable toilet. "But I'd rather not use it now because it will surely be a long wait."
After Mass, Pope Francis was scheduled to have lunch with survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, which leveled parts of the city by driving a wall of water onshore and left more than 7,300 people dead or missing in November 2013.
Earlier, as a gift to the pope, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III presented a wooden Madonna made from a tree that was destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan, the Vatican spokesman said.