As Filipinos hear Masses said by Pope Francis, who is visiting the Philippines this month, they will be holding liturgy books that carry Christian love from France.
A Catholic publisher in France will shoulder the printing of the official liturgy book for the papal visit, with French Catholics paying for the printing through donations.
Bayard Presse, which is run by the Augustinians of the Assumption, will be in charge of the printing of the book, which will be done here by its Filipino partners.
Rev. Bernard Holzer, general manager of Bayard Asia, said Bayard had three weeks in December to finish the liturgical book, as it had to be ready by the first week of January.
“We can manage. We are very efficient,” he said in a recent interview in Quezon City.
100-year experience
Bayard Presse has more than 100 years of experience in publishing. It publishes La Croix, a French newspaper, Living in Christ, a daily missalette in the Philippines and its versions around the world. The original French version is Prions en Eglise.
Bayard also publishes books in English to encourage the youth to read and practice their English.
Its popular children’s publications are “StoryBox,” “AdventureBox” and “DiscoveryBox,” all illustrated in full color.
Spreading Word of God
By offering to shoulder the printing of 100,000 copies of the official liturgy book, Holzer said, Bayard hopes to spread the Word of God and to get Filipinos into the habit of reading.
“The liturgy book will be distributed for free so people can follow the Mass,” he said.
Pope Francis is visiting the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 19. He is expected to say Mass at the Manila Cathedral, SM Mall of Asia, in Tacloban City, the University of Santo Tomas and at Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park.
The official liturgy book will include the liturgy for all five Masses, with its contents approved by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and a representative from the Vatican.
Rev. Andre Antoni, director general of Bayard Presse, said a Filipino-French journalist would cover the papal visit for La Croix.
Speaking through a translator, Rev. Gilles Blovine, Antoni said Bayard wanted to spread the Word of God to a larger audience by publishing the official liturgy book for the papal visit.
“We want to give the people taste and love of reading,” he said.
Part of history
Aware that the liturgy book will become a precious souvenir for Filipino Catholics, Holzer said Bayard was excited about printing the book, as it would become a part of history.
“We are very proud to be part of this historic event. People are very excited about this visit,” he said.
What makes the Bayard Presse effort even more significant is that the funding is coming from French Catholics who donate regularly to Bayard.
The money for the printing will come from a “solidarity fund,” which has around 25,000 French Catholic donors and subscribers.
“We will tell them that it’s for our printing project here,” Holzer said, but declined to disclose how much the printing would cost.
Bayard subscribers donate in whatever way they can for the company’s objective of spreading the Word of God, Antoni said.
“Our readers are very generous. They want the Word of God to spread,” he said.
Blovine, the translator, said some of the donors made regular donations to Bayard despite being poor.
“We have observed that even though some of them are poor, they are even more generous and they give to the solidarity fund,” he said.
May be downloaded
A hundred thousand copies of the official liturgy book for the papal visit will be given away for free. Those who will not be able to get free copies can download the text of the liturgy book in PDF form from a website to be announced later.
Antoni said printing the liturgy book was part of Bayard’s tradition of serving the Pope by helping to spread the Gospel.
Holzer described Bayard Presse’s mission as both an advocacy and a dialogue with readers, Catholic or not.
“Our mission is to spread the Word of God and try to inculcate a love of reading in people. We want to spread it even to non-Catholics, in an open-minded way that they can understand,” he said.
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