Pope Francis’ events lined up at Malacañang, Manila Cathedral, Mall of Asia Arena, University of Sto. Tomas, Luneta, Tacloban city and Palo, Leyte Pope Francis will bypass Cebu and go straight to Metro Manila and Tacloban City when he visits the country in January.
The Archdiocese of Manila yesterday announced the official itinerary of Pope Francis, who will visit the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 19, 2015 following his apostolic visit to Sri Lanka.
“Today our official joy begins… Pope Francis is bringing the joy of the Gospel personally, to us, on the five special days in January that we have officially announced,” Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement.
“When Pope Francis comes, he will show us the face of God. When the Pope sees us Filipinos, may he see the living God in us.”
There were earlier speculations that the Pope would stop by the Mactan Cebu International Airport after the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines announced the closure of the Daniel Romualdez Airport in Tacloban to large aircraft as its runway would undergo repairs.
But according to the itinerary provided by Church officials, the Pope will go to Tacloban city on Jan. 17 and will hold a Mass at the Daniel Romualdez Airport.
The Pope’s plane will touch down at 5:45 p.m. on Jan. 15 at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City where official welcome rites will be held.
At 9 a.m. the next day, a welcome ceremony will be held at Malacañang Palace where the Pope will pay a courtesy call on President Aquino.
At 10:15 a.m., the Pope will meet with authorities and the diplomatic corps at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall of Malacañang.
At 11:15 a.m., the Pope will deliver the homily during a Mass with the bishops, priests, men and women of the religious community at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila.
The Pope will have a meeting with the families at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City at 5:30 p.m.
On Jan. 17, the Pope will go to Tacloban city where he will hold a Mass at the Tacloban International Airport at 10 a.m.
After the Mass, he will be joining some of the survivors of supertyphoon Yolanda for lunch at 12:45 p.m. at the Archbishop’s Residence in Palo.
This will be followed by the blessing of the Pope Francis Center for the Poor at 3 p.m.
The Pope will also meet with priests, women and men of the religious community, seminarians and families of the survivors at the Cathedral of Palo at 3:30 p.m. before he departs for Manila.
On Jan. 18, the Holy Father will have a brief meeting with religious leaders at the University of Santo Tomas at 9:45 a.m. This wil be followed by his meeting with the youth at the UST sports field at 10:30 a.m. then a holy Mass at 3:30 p.m. at the Rizal Park in Manila.
Pope Francis will leave for Rome at 10 a.m. of Jan. 19 after a departure ceremony at the Presidential Pavilion of Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
“I invite you all, my fellow Filipinos, to extend a hearty and warm welcome to our Pope. But most importantly let us open our hearts to the message he will bring and, even now, extend the love, mercy, compassion and kindness that he practices to one another, that he may find in our country a blessed, kind, and grateful people. Let us all work and act together to make his visit a moment of grace for us and our country,” said Villegas.
Citing the pastoral letter the CBCP issued in July, Villegas said that while there will be a great interest and curiousity about the papal visit, the arrival of Pope Francis “carries a message of pastoral love, mercy and compassion.”
“It is through the understanding and living out of his message that the grace of joy will flow,” he said.
Police task force
As this developed the Philippine National Police has formed a special task force to oversee the security arrangements for Pope Francis’ visit .
Special Task Force Papal Visit 2015 will be led by deputy chief for operations, Deputy Director-General Leonardo Espina.
“We will conduct extensive security coverage and other public safety services in all areas of engagements and adjacent areas during the papal visit. It is imperative that the security and safety of the Pope be given utmost priority,” PNP Director-General Alan Purisima said.
PNP spokesman, Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor said coordinating conferences with concerned government agencies have been conducted regarding the crafting of security plans.
“We have initial information about the papal visit but we would rather not give specific details as of now. But rest assured that the PNP has plans for the security of the papal visit,” he said in a briefing in Camp Crame on Friday.
The PNP will provide operational support to the Presidential Security Group which is in charge of close-in security and safety services to Pope Francis and the papal entourage.