4 Philippine Showbiz Today
April 8 - 21, 2018
Pope Francis’ Easter
Message 2018
Under tight security in St.
Peter’s Square in Rome, tens of
thousands of worshipers from
around the word thronged to a
Mass celebrated by Pope Francis
on Easter Sunday.
The pope began: “Our faith is
born on Easter morning: Jesus is
alive! The experience is at the heart
of the Christian message.” He then
delivered the papal blessing “Urbi
et Orbi” (“To the City and to the
World”) from the central balcony of
St. Peter’s Basilica.
The night before, Francis
celebrated an Easter Vigil service at
St. Peter’s, where he baptized eight
adults into the Roman Catholic
faith, including a Nigerian migrant,
John Ogah, called a hero in Italy
for foiling a robbery.
In his message on Sunday, the
pope called for peace in a world
marked by war and conflict. He
cited a need to end the “carnage”
in “the beloved and long-suffering
land of Syria.”
He urged “reconciliation” in
the Middle East and pressed for
“the fruits of dialogue” to defuse
tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
He also called attention to
the “hunger, endemic conflicts
and terrorism” suffered by parts of
Africa.
Francis also touched on the
problems in Venezuela, voicing
hope that the country would “find
a just, peaceful and humane way to
Duterte’s Easter Sunday
message: Be humble, forgive
surmount quickly the political and
humanitarian crises that grip it.”
The pope said the message of
the Resurrection offered hope in a
world “marked by so many acts of
injustice and violence.”
He added: “It bears fruits of
hope and dignity where there are
deprivation and exclusion, hunger
and unemployment; where there
are migrants and refugees, so
often rejected by today’s culture
of waste, and victims of the drug
trade, human trafficking and
contemporary forms of slavery.”
At the Mass, Francis urged
Catholics not to remain paralyzed
in the face of injustice, and he
challenged them to “break out” of
their routines and to let God in.●
- CNA
Jollibee opens third store
in Canada
The biggest fast food chain in
Asia continues to expand its market
in Canada.
Jollibee opened its third store in
Canada on April 1, coinciding with
Easter Sunday.
The third Jollibee location is in
Scarborough in Toronto, Ontario.
It is estimated that there are
around 300,000 Filipinos in the
province of Ontario.
The two other Canadian lo-
cations are in Winnipeg.
Jollibee has more
than 1,000 locations in
the Philippines.
Since opening in
Quezon City in 1975, Jol-
libee has developed a loyal
following among Filipinos. It
is famous for its fried chicken,
pineapple-topped burgers, peach-
mango pie, and spaghetti.
Jollibee began expansion into
North America in 1998, with the To-
ronto location being the 40th fran-
chise to open in the continent.
Jollibee has plans to continue
expanding in North America and
Canada, with locations in New York
City, Las Vegas and somewhere
in California all expected
shortly.
The
Manila-based
company is expected to
open an Edmonton res-
taurant in a couple
years with additional
plans for locations
in Mississauga
and downtown
Toronto.●
‘May we nurture humility and
forgiveness in our hearts as these will
free us from the shackles of hatred
and greed,’ says President Rodrigo
Duterte
President Rodrigo Duterte on
Easter Sunday, April 1, encouraged
Filipinos to be humble and to
forgive.
“As we remember Christ’s
triumphs against death, may we
nurture humility and forgiveness in
our hearts as these will free us from
the shackles of hatred and greed,”
the President said in his message.
He added: “For it is only by
being selfless that we can truly say
we are worthy of God’s love.”
Durerte also called on Filipinos
to offer aid to the needy.
“Let us make this occasion
more meaningful by offering aid to
others, especially to those in need.
Let us pray for the welfare and safety
of our countrymen and for lasting
peace in our nation so that we can
all work together in harmony towards
real change,” he added.
The President’s Easter Sunday
message has the same tone as his
Palm Sunday message, where he
called on people to “help and uplift
the downtrodden.”
Duterte spent the Holy Week
break in Davao City, celebrating
his 73rd birthday at home with his
grandchildren.●
Latest Jollibee in Toronto, Ontario, Canada