By Leslie Ann Aquino  Pope Francis said people who had left their land in search of a better future, “have a special mission.” Pope Francis celebrates a Mass for the Philippine community of Rome, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican to Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino / MANILA BULLETIN) The pontiff highlighted this in his homily when he presided over the Simbang Gabi (dawn mass) for the Filipino community at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, Sunday. "Your faith is leaven in the parish communities to which you belong, today. I encourage you to increase opportunities for meeting to share your cultural and spiritual wealth, while at the same time allowing yourselves to be enriched by the experiences of others," Vatican News quoted the pontiff. "We are all called to practice charity together with those who live in the existential peripheries, using our different gifts to renew the signs of the presence of the Kingdom. Together, we are all called to proclaim the Gospel, the Good News of salvation, in all languages, so as to reach as many people as possible," he added. In his homily, the pontiff also thanked the Filipino community for their devotion. "In the Philippines, for centuries, there has been a novena in preparation for a blessed Christmas called, Simbang-Gabi (Mass of the night). During nine days, the Filipino faithful gather in their parishes for a special Eucharistic celebration," he said. "In recent decades, thanks to Filipino migrants, this devotion has crossed national borders and has arrived in many other countries," added the pontiff. Scalabrinian Fr. Ricky Gente of the Filipino Chaplaincy in Rome, earlier told CBCP News that Sunday's Simbang Gabi would be the first time that the pontiff will preside such a Mass. "This is the fourth year that we celebrate it in the basilica but the first time that the Pope will be the one to preside,” he said. Christmas Day in the Philippines is ushered in by the nine-day dawn Masses that start on Dec. 16, popularly known as the “Misa de Gallo” (Rooster’s Mass) in the traditional Spanish or “Simbang Gabi” in Tagalog. The Christmas practice of the early morning mass during the Spaniards colonization allowed farmers to attend mass before going to work on the fields. It was formerly called as “La Misa Del Gallo” or The Mass of the Rooster because when Jesus was born, it was the only time that a rooster crowed at midnight. Filipinos, attending the Misa de Gallo show their devotion and faith to the Holy Child. It is also a preparation for the people to receive from God the great gift or “Aguinaldo” of Christmas, who is Jesus, the savior of the world.