Day 1: January 15, Thursday

Pope Francis, who came from a papal visit to Sri Lanka, arrived in Manila through Villamor Air
Base riding the chartered SriLankan Airlines Flight 4111, where he was welcomed
by President Benigno Aquino III and several other government officials and church leaders. The
pope arrived in the country at 5:32 pm PST about 13 minutes ahead of his expected arrival
time. For 15 minutes, which started at 5:30 pm PST, all Catholic Churches around the country
rang their bells as ordered by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the
Philippines head, Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan which signaled the pope's
arrival in the country.
The pope was welcomed at the air base by 1,200 students from different Catholic schools under
the Diocese of Paraaque which covers the city of Paraaque, Las Pias, and Muntinlupa. A
performance was done by the students for the welcoming dancing to the tunes; Piliin Mo ang
Pilipinas sung by Angeline Quinto, Kapayapaan by Tropical Depression, and Sayaw ng Pagbati.
The said songs are traditionally performed during Easter Sunday in Paraaque.
The pope then proceeded to the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila which will serve as the pope's
official residence during his stay in the country by an open-air pope-mobile. On his way to the
nunciature, the pope was welcomed by thousands of people devotees and enthusiasts who
were waiting for his arrival.

Day 2: January 16, Friday

The pope rode a "close and more formal" Volkswagen Touran to the Malacaang Palace instead
of the pope mobile due to the nature of his visit to the presidential palace. The pope still rolled
down the window of the car to wave to people waiting to have a glimpse of him. He went to
Malacaang as the head of state of the Vatican and had a courtesy call with President Benigno
Aquino III at the venue. The pontiff met with diplomats and officials at the Rizal Memorial Hall.
President Benigno Aquino III made a speech before the rest of the people in attendance at
Malacaang including Pope Francis. On his speech, Aquino narrated his view on the role of
the local Church in the recent history of the country. He acknowledged the major role the local
Church played in opposing President Ferdinand Marcos and criticized undemocratic policies
highlighted by Marcos' downfall following the aftermath of the 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 over critical of him with
some members of the local clergy "telling him to do something about balding hair". The
president later changed his tone and praised the pope. The speech by Aquino later turned out to
be controversial and drew mixed reception among netizens.
After Aquino's speech, Francis made his first public speech of his Philippine visit and tackled
the issue of corruption in the country. He urged that political leaders must adhere to
"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 and woman and child in the life of the community". The pope
also hailed the resiliency of millions of Filipinos who were affected by Typhoon 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," the pope added.
The pope later rode the pope mobile going to the Manila Cathedral to hold a Mass. Pope
Francis, with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, privately met with street children guided by the Tulay
ng Kabataan Foundation at the Manila Cathedral for about fifteen minutes before he held a
mass at the cathedral. This is after children from the foundation sent 1,000 letters requesting the
pope to meet with them in person. The Mass which Francis held at the cathedral was closed to
the public with only 1,500 selected people composing of bishops, priests, nuns and seminarians
plus 500 laypersons. In his homily, Pope Francis 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. Tagle also relates the history of the
Cathedral, which was rebuilt numerous times after being destroyed numerous times due to
natural and manmade calamities, to the resilience of the Filipino people. Authorities estimated
that about 22,000 people stayed outside the cathedral during the mass; 12,000 at Plaza
Roma and 10,000 in auxiliary streets. In an unexpected move, Pope Francis used the side
doors, instead of the front door, of the cathedral as his exit after the Mass and walked towards
Gen. Luna Street of Intramuros. The pope returned to the Apostolic Nunciature before heading
towards the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The pope made a meeting with families at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Each of the 86 dioceses
were tasked to send a delegate of 100 people for the meeting with the families. In addition, 300
people from the poor sector, were selected by the Caritas Manila to attend the event, who were
assigned to occupy the center of the arena directly facing the pope. Pope Francis, who stood on
the arena's platform during the event, also requested to the event organizers that no people
shall be seated at his back prior to the meeting.
Back at the Apostolic Nunciature, Pope Francis, a Jesuit himself, accomodated 40 Filipino
Jesuits. The Filipino Jesuits were privately informed of the meeting and only disclosed the
meeting to the public after the gathering itself.

Day 3: January 17, Saturday

Pope Francis departed from Villamor Air Base at 7:37 am PST for Daniel Z. Romualdez
Airport in Tacloban, Leyte on a chartered Airbus A320 flight operated by Philippine Airlines,
arriving in Tacloban at approximately 8:50 am PST, where he was welcomed by Palo
Archbishop John F. Du. The pope's trip to Leyte was shortened as decided by the Vatican due
to Typhoon Mekkhala (Amang). Leyte has been placed under storm signal no. 2 earlier morning
by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. The
pontiff held a Holy Mass on a stage which was set up at the Tacloban airport. The stage,
specifically made for the papal Mass, is primarily made of sawali or bamboo mats. Among the
languages used during the Mass
were Waray, Cebuano, English, Filipino, Hiligaynon, Latin, and Spanish. Just after the mass, it
was reported that a 27-year old woman from Samar, volunteering for the Catholic Relief
Services, died when a scaffolding from a speaker near the altar fell on her. The debris was
blown by winds caused by approaching Typhoon Mekkhala.
He had lunch with survivors of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) at the Archbishop's Residence
in Palo. The Pope Francis Center for the Poor also in Palo was blessed by the pope himself
during his visit. The facility funded by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum has a clinic, a chapel, a
home for the elderly and sick and an orphanage. Construction of the facility was completed in
December 2014 after five months of work. The pope had a brief meeting with seminarians,
priests, religious community members and families of the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan at the
Palo Cathedral and blessed a mass grave of those who were killed due to the typhoon. Francis
departed from Tacloban at exactly 1:07 pm PST to Manila. The pope was originally scheduled to
depart at 5:00 pm PST. The pope apologized for leaving earlier than scheduled. Minutes after
the plane carrying the pontiff left, a Bombardier Global Express plane boarded by top
government officials, including Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr. and Presidential
Communications Operations Office Secretary Sonny Coloma, skidded off the runway. All people
on board were safe following the accident.
The pope arrived back at Villamor Air Base in Manila at around 2:00 pm PST. Francis was
received by high-ranking officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine
National Police together with their families. Children and the sick lining along the runway were
also blessed by the pope.

Day 4: January 18, Sunday

Pope Francis arrived at the University of Santo Tomas entering the main gate along Espaa
Boulevard at around 9:25 am PST. The pope walked through the Arch of the Centuries and met
briefly with representatives representing various religions.
After the meeting, Pope Francis rode the pope mobile and circled around the university and
later met with at least thousands of youth who gathered at the university. About 24,000 youth
representatives gathered at the University of Santo Tomas Field near the Grandstand. People
from the general public were also present within other parts of the university.
At the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta Park, the pope held his third and concluding mass in the
Philippines. The Metro Manila Development Authority said approximately six million people
attended the event, exceeding the number of five million attendees during Pope John Paul
II's World Youth Day Mass at the same venue in 1995, making the attendance the largest papal
gathering in history. For his journey to Rizal Park, the pope travelled on a jeepney-inspired pope
mobile, one of three pope mobiles used by the pope for his visit to the Philippines. During
the homily, Pope Francis discussed the importance of the Santo Nio on how it is a reminder
that this identity must be protected, as to the importance of protecting our families, and larger
families like the Church, God's family, and the world. He also mentioned the need for family
protection against insidious attacks and programs contrary to "all that we hold true and sacred,
all that is most beautiful and noble in our culture.

Day 5: January 19, Monday

Pope Francis attended a leave-taking ceremony at the Presidential Pavilion in Villamor Air Base,
where he was sent-off by President Benigno Aquino III, his Cabinet secretaries, and a number
of Catholic bishops, before flying back to Rome. The pope departed Manila at 10:12 am PST on
a chartered Philippine Airlines flight.