Filipino pope could revive priestly vocations back home

Full of faith: People praying after lighting candles following a Mass, ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope, at Baclaran Church in Paranaque City, Metro Manila. — Reuters

AS cardinals gather in the Vatican to elect a new pope – with a Filipino among the favourites – the church in Asia’s most Catholic country is grappling with a decline in those with a vocation for the priesthood.

“According to the statistics we have... one priest is catering to around 9,000 Catholics,” John Alfred Rabena, chancellor of UST Central Seminary, one the country’s oldest, said this week.