Renz Monique A. Ramos Descriptive Essay

BSMT-1 EN 1

THE POPE’S VISIT

Pope Francis is a pope of the Catholic Church, he holds the title ex officio for

being the Bishop of Rome, in which capacity he is also the absolute sovereign of

the Vatican City State. Furthermore, the pope was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he

worked as a chemical technician and nightclub bouncer before beginning seminary

studies. Cardinal Luis Tagle personally requested the pope to visit the Philippines on

the day of his inauguration as pope. In a pastoral letter dated 7 July 2014, the Catholic

Bishops' Conference of the Philippines announced the theme of the papal visit, "A

Nation of Mercy and Compassion." The theme was later shortened to "Mercy and

Compassion”.

Pope Francis is expected to arrive in Manila from Sri Lanka by plane past 5 p.m.

on January 15, and will go on a motorcade to his official residence in the Philippines.

The following morning, January 16, Pope Francis will be officially welcomed by

President Benigno S. Aquino III at Malacañan Palace on J. P. Laurel Street in Manila.

The Pope will also meet Philippine authorities and members of the diplomatic corps.

After the Palace reception, Pope Francis will go on a motorcade to the Cathedral-

Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Manila Cathedral) in Intramuros for a Mass with

bishops, priests, and women and men religious. Later, he will have an encounter with

families at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.From January 16 to 19,2015 Pope Francis’

first pastoral visit in the Philippines. The pope visited Manila, Tacloban and Palo, Leyte

to pay a visit to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. Pope Francis became the second pope

to go beyond Manila during a papal visit to the Philippines, after Pope John Paul II who

visited Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo, Legazpi, Bataan, and Baguio, alongside Manila

from February 17 to 22, 1981.

In Pope Francis’ 5-days stay here in the Philippines, the Philippine authorities

planned to mobilize about 37,500 police and military personnel for the sake of the safety

of our dearest Pope Francis. The pope’s visit helped us Filipino citizens to fortify our

faith in God. He brought us all Filipinos all in the same understanding about our society,

that we should consider each one another as a gift. Love, cherish and care for the poor

especially the children because by the day comes, those wonderful children of God will

be our hope for our society’s development.