Unique, unprecedented even in Church’s history are words that mainstream media kept repeating to describe the double canonization of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XIII in ceremonies graced by two living pontiffs, 150 cardinals, 1,000 bishops and 24 heads of states. Some one million pilgrims filled the St. Peter’s Square eager to take part in the solemn ceremonies.
The rest of us who missed the inimitable moment are not exactly removed from what was happening in the Eternal City. Broadcast media was hooked up to the Catholic station in Rome as were online and social media yesterday. In the run-up to the canonization, mainstream media came up with specially produced segments and feature stories to highlight the event. CDN struck JP 2 headlines for many days and I can’t wait to read today’s main story.
What I find interesting are archived materials pertaining to the February 18, 1981 visit of the late Pope John Paul II in Cebu City. John Paul II was just three years into his pontificate and the timing of his Philippine visit could not have been more upsetting for the martial law regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos who tried in vain to make the papal visit a formal visit by a head of state. A state visit would have insured for the dictator an engagement with the Pope, which Marcos badly needed to deodorize his image in the international community.
Because John Paul II didn’t want to be in the same frame with either Ferdinand or Imelda, the former First Lady had to be content with making parallel plane trips to places where the Pope was supposed to visit.
According to personal accounts of reporters who travelled with the pope, the international and local media didn’t even bother to photograph Mrs. Marcos who would usually mix with well-wishers in the airport. The biggest puzzle to this day is whether John Paul II was able to spot Imelda from a distance because the meet and greet didn’t happen.
In February 18, 1981, I was then working for DYKC and the coverage of the papal visit was a high priority of the network. I woke up very early that day and had to leave my 5-year-old daughter under the care of my husband, Boy.
The Popemobile which carried John Paul II from the Mactan airport had just crossed the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge and as I took note of the huge throng that lined up the street near the foot of the bridge, I spotted my daughter Nikki across the street waving and smiling broadly in the papal direction. She was in a vantage position because she was being held up on the shoulders of her father.
By midday, local and international media trooped to the old Sacred Heart Gymnasium. This was a high point in the papal schedule because everybody wanted to hear his message about the political situation. I wrote about this part of the papal visit during the celebration of Press Freedom Week in September 20, 2007 ticking it off as one of my most unforgettable media assignments in my more than 30 years as a media practitioner.
“A hush descended on the packed (Sacred Heart) gym when the Pope arrived accompanied by a group of important foreign and Filipino clergy. He looked flushed, perhaps due to the weather and hectic schedule. There was a moment of silence before the program started and I counted about two, three minutes of stillness. One can literally hear a pin drop until the quiet was interrupted by the arrival of a local priest.”
“I didn’t know if he was tardy for legitimate reasons, but I will never forget the way John Paul II looked at him as he made his way onto the stage to join other priests who were standing behind the Pope. It was hard to say if John Paul II was upset, but he gave him a look, which was less than a glare but more than a stare. It was a piercing look, one that held many interpretations for many people, but especially for local clerics that day.”
The funny thing is, I can no longer remember the papal message.
My friends like businessman Bobby Pacana and Cebu Cathedral Museum curator Louella Alix and many others who had caught glimpses of John Paul II in Cebu in 1981 and in Manila when he returned in 1995 for the World Youth Day posted in Facebook their virtual meeting with the great Pope.
Bobby and Loi still remember the moment the Popemobile passed by. Another friend, Steve Penny Villabert proudly holds a letter from John Paul II in answer to her positive comments about his Philippine visit.
These shared recollections are not tangible, unlike the physical parts of the dead saint. Bones, hair and blood are considered first-class relics. A sliver of the saint’s vestments or personal effects, like chairs, rosaries, bibles are of another category.
In any case, I believe our collective and personal memories of St. John Paul II fall under the first-class category because they are everlasting and have been profound influences in our lives.
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