'I felt seen' Filipinos recall late pontiff's care during disaster and dark times

At Quiapo church in central Manila, the pews are filled with worshippers. Latecomers gather near the entrance, clutching fans to ease the stifling heat. A prayer is read out in memory of Pope Francis, known affectionately as Lolo Kiko, or Grandpa Francis, whose image stands framed on the altar. It's one of many tributes and services held across the Philippines over recent days as one of the world's biggest Catholic populations marks the pope's death.

- Rebecca Ratcliffe

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr declared a period of national mourning, lasting until the pope's burial tomorrow. Buildings - from universities to a shopping mall - have held light displays in the papal colours of yellow and white, and in violet, which is often symbolic of penance. At a thoroughfare in Manila, a billboard declares: "Pope Francis, thank you very much! We love you."

Quiapo, like many other churches across the country, rang out its bells to mark his death on Easter Monday.

"Pope Francis is the pope we grew up knowing," says Mario Amor, 35, a member of Quiapo's congregation. "For me, he is a very kind pope."

On the bustling boulevard outside the church, stalls are stacked with rosary beads, T-shirts emblazoned with Jesus's image, and figurines of Catholic saints.

Veronica Reponte, who has had a stall outside the church for two decades, vividly remembers when the pope visited the Philippines in 2015. She took her son, then eight, with her to watch the procession at Manila's Rizal park. "I didn't have a raincoat and my umbrella couldn't withstand the rain," she recalls. Miserable weather didn't stop the public from turning out. A record crowd of up to 7 million people watched his procession.

There had been a frenzy of excitement in the run-up to his arrival. Sales of anything pope-related on Reponte's stall soared - calendars, posters and even handkerchiefs adorned with Francis's face. "I wished I'd been able to see him again," she says.