Woman recalls how Pope Francis changed her life

They say “third time’s a charm,” but for one Cebuana, each encounter with Pope Francis was not merely a bling of fortune --it was a calling, an affirmation, and her compass for a lifelong mission.

- — Jonnavie Villa/BRP

Fe Mantuhac Barino, a charismatic international leader from Cebu and the chairwoman of the Commission on the Laity of the Archdiocese of Cebu, once stood humbly among thousands at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.

The facade of the basilica loomed in the background, but her heart was focused only on one figure, Pope Francis who had unknowingly set the trajectory of her life into motion years prior.

Her journey began not in Rome, but on the storm-battered soil of Palo, Leyte, where Pope Francis visited the Philippines in 2015, two years after the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda.

“Ang akong feeling ato mura kog nakakita og tinugyanan sa Ginoo,” she narrated.

Two years later, divine intervention would pull her closer.

On May 31, 2017, through Msgr. John Thomas Limchua, Barino was introduced directly to Pope Francis. This time, they were face-to-face and hand-to-hand.

“Gi-introduce ko ni Msgr. John Thomas Limchua ngadto ni Pope Francis,” she said.

Limchua explained her advocacy on drug addiction to the pope in Italian. The pope responded with words Barino could not understand but felt with her soul.

“Honestly mura kog galutaw sa panganod kay naa na siya sa duol unya gigunitan na niya akong kamot... Wa ko kasabot sa iyang gisulti so nangutana nalang ko ‘monsignor, unsa ang gisulti ni Pope Francis?’” she recalled.