VATICAN CITY, Rome — With Christmas day just around the corner, Pope Francis has praised Filipinos for their faith, describing the work of some of them working in the Vatican as “fantastic” because of “the faith they have and the witness they give.”

The Pope expressed his gratitude while addressing Filipinos in Italy as well as the local migrant community in Spain.

“The Filipinos are men of faith, women of faith,” the pontiff said in his message even as he instructed Filipinos to “continue to bear witness in this society that has become too rich, too competent, too self-sufficient.

"Thank you for what you do,” he stated emphatically.

The pope also expressed his fondness for the Pilipino word 'tahanan' because it signified, he stressed, that the church can be someone’s home wherever they may be.

“You chose to call your mission in Madrid ‘Tahanan’—a beautiful word that we can translate as ‘home.’ And it is true, everywhere we go, the Church is always a home for us, a warm and welcoming home, and today the house of Peter is also like a home for you,” he cited.

Pope Francis also cherished two memories when he visited the Philippines nine years ago, after the devastation caused by super typhoon Yolanda, when he celebrated the Holy Mass with more than seven million people in Manila and also in Tacloban.

“With the rain and the wind, I remember we had to rush out because a storm was coming, and otherwise we would not have been able to take off,” he recalled.