The Philippines is gearing up for the arrival of Pope Francis on Thursday, January 15. Drivers, newscasters, government officials, street vendors, Catholics, non-Catholics and just about everyone in the country are talking about the madness of traffic during the Papal events due to the expected millions of people that will be participating.
Manila Bulletin, the Philippines’ leading national newspaper, has divulged the route of Papal entourage when the Holy Father arrives Manila at 5:45pm on the Jan. 15. “From the Villamore Airbase, the Papal entourage will pass Andrews Road (westbound), Domestic Airport Road, Park and Fly area, Roxas Boulevard (southbound), Quirino Avenue up to Taft Avenue where the Apostolic Nunciature, Pope’s official residence is located.”
The following day, Friday, the Jan. 16, at 9:15am, the Pope will make a courtesy visit to the President of the Philippines and will meet with authorities and the diplomatic corps. Then, at 11:15am, he will proceed to the Manila Cathedral, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, to celebrate a Mass with bishops, priests, women and men religious. At 5:30pm that same day, he will meet with families at the Mall of Asia Arena.
On Jan. 17, Friday, at 8:15am, the Holy Father will fly to Leyte to fulfill his primary purpose for coming to the Philippines, which is to visit the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. When he arrives there, he will celebrate Mass near Tacloban airport at 10am and afterwards he will have lunch with the typhoon victims.
After lunch, he will bless Pope Francis Center and have a meeting with priests, religious women and men, seminarians and families of survivors of Typhoon Yolanda. He will depart Leyte at 5pm to prepare for the remaining big events in Manila the following day, Sunday, January 18: brief meeting with the religious leaders of the Philippines and meeting with youth in the morning starting at 9:45am at the University of Santo Tomas and Holy Mass at Luneta Park at 3pm.
The pope will depart the following day, Monday, January 19.
It’s a heavy schedule for the Papal Visit and in order to avoid a traffic jam in Manila, the government has declared the closure of classes and offices from Thursday to Friday on that week.
Meanwhile, the whole Metro-Manila is holding its breath at imagining the millions of people who will be welcoming the Pope as he parades around the streets of Manila and as he celebrates Mass and meets with people from all walks of life.
As Pope Francis observes and encounters people in the country, I’m sure that his heart will be moved with pity and compassion at seeing the destitute, the slum dwellers, and all extremely poor people. His heart will be immensely troubled at witnessing the wide gap between the rich and the poor, a perennial scandal in the Philippines.
I hope for the best of his speeches: not the prepared ones but those impromptu speeches with his usual catchy phrases that will prick the consciences of corrupt politicians, greedy businessmen, and inauthentic church leaders to realize the evil and scandal of greed and inequality, the imperialism of money at the expense of the common good, and the globalization of indifference to poverty.
We’ll see…
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From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1999-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.
