Pope Francis thanks Rita Avila for books

Actor-turned-book author Rita Avila. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Pope Francis has expressed his thanks to actor-turned-book author Rita Avila for the books she had sent him, a post on the website of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said.

According to the post, the Pope thanked Avila through a high-ranking Vatican official in a letter that also invoked blessings on the author and her husband.

“Dear Rita Avila, His Holy Father wishes me to express his gratitude for the kind gift of inscribed copies of your books. He appreciates the sentiments which prompted you to share your writings with him. His Holiness will remember you and your husband in his prayers. He invokes upon you God’s blessings of strength and peace,” read the letter from Msgr. Peter Wells, of Vatican Secretariat of State.

Avila and her husband, director Erick Reyes, apparently received the communication on the same month of their son Ellia Jesu’s eighth death anniversary. The boy died after heart surgery in December 2006.

Avila recently sent Pope Francis copies of her books “8 Ways to Comfort with Grace” and “The Invisible Wings.”

According to the CBCP post, “8 Ways to Comfort with Grace” was written to help people in grief and to educate others on how to comfort the grieving.

“The Invisible Wings,” on the other hand, is a fable about angels and children.–Tina G. Santos