THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 5 Number 4 | January 2015
PHILIPPINES
03
Papal visit excites a country
‘THIS is not a social gathering, this is not a rock-and-roll
gathering,’ a Filipino bishop said. He may be right but by all
indications the country is ready to give a rousing welcome to
someone more than a rock star.
THIS month, Filipinos – at least the Catholics – are
in eager anticipation of a historic apostolic and state
visit to the Philippines by Pope Francis.
The papal visit comes almost twenty years
since the late Pope John Paul II visited the country in 1995 for the World Youth Day. This time
the visit of Pope Francis is expected to gather
millions anew in a show of grand welcome for
the leader of the Catholic Church.
In his visit to Sydney last year, no less than
Cardinal Antonio Tagle said that the number of people turning out to welcome the Pope
may be one for the records book, something bigger than
the 1995 papal
visit.
Pinoy Catholics have always been
friendly to
popes. In
1995, some
three
million
people were reported to have lined up
the streets to welcome
Pope John Paul II. The
late pope’s closing Mass
for the World Youth Day in
Manila was attended by a record 4 million.
Many are expecting that
that number will be surpassed
when Pope Francis says Mass in
Luneta.
“I am so excited to hear the Mass
in Luneta – it’s on my bucket list,”
posted Dianne Racielyn on the ‘Papal
Visit – Philippines 2015’ page on
Facebook.
With a thematic message
of ‘mercy and compassion’ Pope Francis will
visit the Philippines
from January 15 to 19. He will be in at least 11 different venues in Metro Manila and in Leyte. The Pope
will arrive in Manila from Sri Lanka and he will be
officially welcomed by President Noynoy Aquino at
Malacañan Palace on the morning of January 16.
In Leyte Province in Eastern Visayas, Pope Francis will visit the Archdiocese of Palo. He will offer
Mass near Tacloban Airport in the morning of January 17 and will have lunch with the poor and survivors of natural calamities at the residence of the
Archbishop of Palo.
Holidays in Manila
Malacañan officials said a simple ceremony
awaits the Pope at the Palace. The pope’s visit is classified as both an apostolic and a state visit. But the
government is all-out in ensuring security measures
are in place. Malacañan has declared January 15, 16
and 19 as special non-working holidays in the National Capital Region.
The declaration of holidays during the visit of
Pope Francis was intended to prevent traffic and enable Catholics to take part in the activities.
Not rock-and-roll
Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Youth (CBCP-ECY), called on
young Filipinos to reflect on the real essence of the
Pope’s visit, which is to live and share God’s “mercy
and compassion.”
“In spite of the excitement over his visit, may we
remind the youth that this is not a social gathering,
this is not a rock-and-roll gathering," Jaucian told the
Varsitarian. "His visit is more of a pastoral visit. He
comes to bring Jesus closer to us.”
“I already had a personal encounter with [the
Pope] during the Asian Youth Day in Korea and I
know he loves the youth. He really does not make you
feel he's authority,” Jaucian said.
Pope Francis will meet the Filipino youth at the
University's parade grounds in the morning of January 18.
LOOKING BACK: Papal visits to the Philippines
Two popes had earlier visited the Philippines, Pope Paul VI in 1970
and Pope John Paul II in 1981 and 1995. These were memorable
events in the country's church history and Filipino Catholics came
out to give the leader a grand welcome...
1970 – Pope Paul VI was the first pope to visit the Philippines. He made a
speech before students at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. On 27
November 1970 he was the target of an assassination attempt at Manila
International Airport in the Philippines by a Bolivian painter. He was only lightly
stabbed by the would-be assassin who was subdued by the pope's personal
secretary.
A 1970 stamp to mark the Papal visit.
1995 – Pope John Paul II made his second visit to the Philippines,
this time for the World Youth Day. A mass he celebrated was
attended by an estimated four million people – noted by the
Guinness Book of Records as the biggest papal gathering ever.
1981 – Pope John Paul II visited the Philippines and beatified the Philippines’
first saint – Lorenzo Ruiz. It was the first beatification made outside the Vatican. This visit sparked