Adobo and ‘lechon’ for lunch in Palo

PALO, Leyte—When Pope Francis sits down for lunch with typhoon and earthquake survivors in Leyte province on Jan. 17, he will be offered two of the Filipinos’ favorite dishes: adobo and lechon.

Palo Archbishop John Du disclosed the menu on Monday, saying that following the Pope’s preference for simple living, there would be no “fancy foods” at his lunch with 30 survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) and the earthquake in Bohol province in 2013.

“There will be lechon, adobo and vegetables, preferably malunggay,” Du said during a press conference held at the Archbishop’s Palace in Palo town.

Du said the foods that would be served during the papal lunch were parts of Filipino culture that he wanted Pope Francis to taste.

Volunteer caterers

According to Du, three caterers from Palo have offered their services for free and they will cook in the kitchen of the Archbishop’s Palace, which was damaged by Yolanda and not yet fully repaired.

Five survivors of the Oct. 15, 2013, Bohol earthquake, five survivors of Yolanda from each of the dioceses of Borongan and Calbayog, and 15 from

Palo have been chosen as luncheon guests of the Pope on the third day of his five-day visit to the Philippines.

The lunch is scheduled at 12:45 p.m. on Jan. 17, right after the Pope says Mass on the apron of the international airport in Tacloban. The Mass will start at 10 a.m.

Aside from the 30 survivors, also joining the lunch with Francis are Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and Du. The dining hall, located on the upper floor of the Archbishop’s Palace, has a floor area of around 50 square meters.

Interpreters will be around, among them Msgr. Rex Ramirez, vicar general of the Palo archdiocese and head of the secretariat for the papal visit.

The Argentine Pope speaks mostly in Spanish and Italian and says Mass in Latin.

“I don’t know Latin. Perhaps, we could talk in Chinese,”Du, partly Chinese, jokingly said.

Du said the spoons and forks that would be used by Francis and his guests were “old” andowned by the archdiocese.

Asked how long he expected the papal luncheon to last, Du said: “It will all depend. If the survivors will be interactive with the Pope, I guess the meeting will last more than 30 minutes.”