News in Pictures: December 29, 2024
BRINGING HOPE TO INMATES
Pope Francis on Thursday visits the Rebibbia Penitentiary in Rome, opening the Holy Door of the prison chapel as gesture to convey to the inmates that “hope does not disappoint.” He and other priests also gather for a photo-op following a Mass that he led there on Thursday to mark the coming year as the Jubilee, a time for “peace and pardon.”
This occasion, also called the Catholic Holy Year, has been celebrated by the Catholic Church every 25 years since the time of Pope Boniface VIII in 1300. In his visit to one of the largest prison complexes in Italy, Francis spoke to hundreds of guards, staff and especially the inmates, telling them “This is the message I wanted to give you. Do not lose hope.”
In Manila, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David also held a Mass on Thursday at the Metro Manila District Jail in Taguig City, dedicating the ceremony to political detainees as well as inmates doing time without ever having been convicted in court.
Both the Pope and David, one of 21 bishops whom Francis elevated to the rank of cardinal on Dec. 7, have made it a part of their mission to visit prisons and devote special attention to the incarcerated. —AFP, VATICAN MEDIA
GOODWILL PACKAGES
Officers of the Manila Police District and volunteers of a fire brigade in Manila on Friday distribute rice and other food items to residents from Ermita and other parts of the capital as part of a goodwill drive this Christmas. This initiative complements efforts by the national government to provide basic goods to the poor either for free or at reduced prices. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
BARKING FOR A SAFE NEW YEAR
Members of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society and EcoWaste Coalition, bringing along their pet dogs, gather at Ayala Malls Vertis North in Quezon City on Friday for their “IWAS PAPUTOXIC” event, promoting animal welfare and discouraging the use of firecrackers to mark the New Year.
The groups called for a firecracker-free celebration, without the hazards brought by these explosives, such as noise and air pollution and risk to injury—dangers to both people and the pets in their care. —LYN RILLON
RIZAL REMEMBERED
Museum researchers Drew Rabadon (left) and Joyce Vedasto on Saturday clean up a bust of national hero Jose Rizal at the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) on Teodoro M. Kalaw Avenue in Ermita, Manila.
The cultural agency opened a special exhibit on Dec. 30 to commemorate Rizal’s execution by firing squad on that day 128 years ago, with the Philippine Revolution already four months underway after the Katipunan was exposed by Spanish authorities on Aug. 19, 1896.
The exhibit titled “Remembering Rizal in Artworks and Monuments” features the NHCP’s collection inspired by Rizal’s life, his writings and art works and the “ultimo adios” (last farewell) of his sacrifice. —RICHARD A. REYES
