Pope Francis made a pastoral and state visit to the Philippines from January 15 to 19, 2015. He was the third pontiff to visit the Philippines after Paul VI in 1970 and John Paul II in 1981 and 1995, officially the first papal visit in the 21st century and 3rd millennium after the title was originally scheduled for World Meeting of Families twelve years earlier in 2003 but postponed due to John Paul II being unable to attend because of the progression of his Parkinson's disease, and fourth papal visit to the country overall. Besides Manila, Francis visited Tacloban and Palo, Leyte, to encourage the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) and Typhoon Hagupit (Ruby). The Filipinos nicknamed Francis ("Grandpa Francis") as a term of endearment, which he commended. Around 6–7 million attended Francis' final Papal Mass at Luneta, surpassing the crowd at World Youth Day 1995 in the same venue and making it the largest papal crowd in history. The theme of Francis' 2015 visit was "Mercy and Compassion" ().

Background

Invitation and planning Efforts to get Pope Francis to visit the Philippines began at his enthronement, when Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle personally requested the visit.

In a pastoral letter dated July 7, 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".

Security

Military and police mobilization

Philippine authorities mobilized about 37,500 police and military personnel in Manila, Tacloban, and Palo during the visit: 7,000 from the Armed Forces plus 5,000 reservists, 25,000 police officers, and a 450-man security force recently returned from United Nations peacekeeping missions in the Golan Heights and Liberia. Snipers were also deployed in buildings along Roxas Boulevard in Manila.

International coordination The Philippine government coordinated with Interpol and with other Southeast Asian states to monitor people who may have been on Interpol's watch list of those who went to Iraq or Syria to join the Islamic State militant group. "We're touching base with so many allies to ... identify any threat whatsoever coming from any direction," then-President Benigno Aquino III commented on the coordination efforts.

The Central Intelligence Agency of the United States and the Vatican had also sent intelligence agents to the Philippines to assess the security situation ahead of the papal visit.

Foiled terror plot On January 22, it was revealed by Philippine authorities that weeks prior to the papal visit a plot to detonate a bomb on the papal convoy by Jemaah Islamiyah was foiled by the Philippine Armed Forces and National Police. The Swiss Guards tasked to guard the pope's personal security were also instrumental in foiling the plot. The plot was confirmed by intelligence counterparts from neighboring countries.

Additional deployment to key areas by the military was made following the foiled attack. Part of the Light Reaction Company, which received training assistance from the United States, and extra military armored assets were deployed during Pope Francis's mass at Luneta. Security forces also made changes to their preparation to mislead potential attackers. The foiled plot was also the reason for the intentional jamming of cellular signals around areas where the pope visited.

Crowd control

The Department of Public Works and Highways utilized at least 23,000 concrete barriers along the route the pope took around Metro Manila to restrain the crowd from blocking the pope's motorcade. Each barrier measures about 1.25 meters high, some being borrowed from the North and South Luzon Expressways. During John Paul II's visit devotees had rushed into the streets slowing down or stopping the pope's motorcade, which the concrete barriers were meant to forestall.

A uniformed human barricade of 11,000 barangay officials and 5,000 parishioners from Manila secured Pope Francis, and 5,000 students from the University of Santo Tomas volunteered as a human barricade during the pope's visit to the university.

Theme song Filipina singer Jamie Rivera sang "We Are All God's Children", the official theme song for the Papal visit, with lyrics penned by Rivera herself, and music composed and arranged by Noel Espenida. The song's theme is about "humility" and "solidarity with the poor and mercy to the weak". A music video was made available on YouTube.

Venues

Metro Manila

Visit

Day 1: January 15, Thursday

Pope Francis, who came from a papal visit to Sri Lanka, arrived in Manila through Villamor Air Base riding a chartered Airbus A340-300 of SriLankan Airlines (flight UL4111, registered 4R-ADF). However, as soon as the Pope stepped out of the plane, his zucchetto was blown away due to strong winds. He was welcomed by then-President Benigno Aquino III and several other government officials and church leaders. He arrived in the country at 5:32pm PST about 13 minutes ahead of his expected arrival time. For 15 minutes, which started at 5:30pm PST, all Catholic churches around the country rang their bells to signal the Pope's arrival, as directed by the Bishops' Conference head Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan.

The pope was welcomed at the air base by 1,200 students from different Catholic schools in the Diocese of Parañaque, which covers the cities of Parañaque, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa. The students danced to the tunes Piliin Mo ang Pilipinas sung by Angeline Quinto, Kapayapaan by Tropical Depression, and Sayaw ng Pagbati. These are traditional Easter Sunday songs in Parañaque.

The delegation of religious officials and politicians welcoming the pope at the air base included:

Government officials President Benigno Aquino III Vice President Jejomar Binay Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima Justice Secretary Leila de Lima Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson Education Secretary Armin Luistro Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya Budget Secretary Florencio Abad NEDA Director General Arsenio Balisacan

Religious officials Manila Archbishop and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle Cotabato Archbishop and Cardinal Orlando Quevedo Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop and CBCP President Socrates B. Villegas Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma S.J. Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles Cabanatuan Bishop Sofronio Bancud La Union Bishop Rodolfo Beltran Malaybalay Bishop Jose Cabantan Prelate of Infanta Bernardino Cortez Daet Bishop Gilbert Garcera Vicar Apostolic of Jolo Angelito Lampon Lucena Bishop Emilio Z. Marquez Parañaque Bishop Jesse Mercado CBCP Secretary General Rev. Father Marvin Mejia

The pope then proceeded in an open-air popemobile to the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila, which served as the official residence during his stay in the country. On his way to the nunciature, the pope was welcomed by thousands of devotees and enthusiasts.

Day 2: January 16, Friday

The pope rode a "close and more formal" Volkswagen Touran to the Malacañang Palace, rolling down the window to wave to people waiting to have a glimpse of him. He went to Malacañang as the head of state of the Vatican and had a courtesy call with then-President Benigno Aquino III, also meeting diplomats and officials at Rizal Memorial Hall.

The then-President Aquino made a speech before those in attendance at Malacañang, in which he spoke of the role of the local Church in the recent history of the country. He acknowledged its major role in opposing former President Ferdinand Marcos and criticized undemocratic policies that led to Marcos's downfall through the 1986 People Power Revolution. However, Aquino criticized the local Church for its alleged inaction against "abuses" by "previous administrations" and for lobbying against the Reproductive Health Law even before its passage as a law. Aquino criticized the local Church for allegedly being too critical of him with some members of the local clergy "telling him to do something about balding hair". The then-president later changed his tone and praised the pope. The speech by Aquino proved controversial and drew mixed reactions online.

After Aquino's speech, Francis made his first public speech and tackled the issue of corruption in the country. He urged political leaders to be "outstanding for honesty, integrity, and commitment to the common good." He added that they must listen to the concerns of the poor and tackle the "glaring and indeed scandalous social inequalities" in society. The pope also called on Filipinos "at all levels of society to reject every form of corruption which diverts resources from the poor, and to make concerted efforts to ensure the inclusion of every man, woman, and child in the life of the community." The pope also hailed the resiliency of millions of Filipinos who were affected by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). "This visit is meant to express my closeness to our brothers and sisters who endured and suffered loss and devastation caused by typhoon Yolanda," Francis said, using the local name of the typhoon. "I admire the heroic strength, faith, and resilience demonstrated by so many Filipinos in the face of natural disaster," he added.

The pope later rode the popemobile to Manila Cathedral to celebrate Mass. Before Mass, he and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle met privately for about fifteen minutes with street children served by the Tulay ng Kabataan Foundation. These children had sent 1,000 letters requesting the pope to meet with them in person. The Mass was closed to the public, with only 1,500 selected people in attendance – bishops, priests, nuns, and seminarians, plus 500 laypersons. In his homily, the pope highlighted the role of the Catholic Church in addressing the issues of inequality and injustice and leading the Philippine society from the "confusing presentations of sexuality, marriage, and family." The attendees led by Manila Archbishop and Cardinal Luis Tagle welcomed the pope and related the history of the cathedral, which was rebuilt numerous times after being destroyed by natural and manmade calamities, showing the resiliency of the Filipino people. Authorities estimated that about 22,000 people gathered outside the cathedral during the Mass, with 12,000 at Plaza Roma, and 10,000 in nearby streets. In an unexpected move, Pope Francis used the side doors as his exit after the Mass and walked towards Gen. Luna Street of Intramuros to visit the street children of Anak-TnK. He returned to the Apostolic Nunciature before heading towards the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

The pope then met with families at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Each of the country's 86 dioceses were to send 100 people for the meeting. In addition, 300 people from the poor sector were selected by Caritas Manila and filled the center of the arena directly facing the pope. Francis had requested that no people be seated at his back during the meeting.

Back at the Apostolic Nunciature, Pope Francis, a Jesuit himself, accommodated 40 Filipino Jesuits. The Filipino Jesuits were privately informed of the meeting that was disclosed to the public only afterwards.

Day 3: January 17, Saturday