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: On his way to the nunciature, the pope was welcomed by thousands of devotees and enthusiasts. 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. 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. 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 Pope Francis departed from Villamor Air Base at 7:37am PST for
Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in
Tacloban,
Leyte, on a chartered
Airbus A320 flight operated by
Philippine Airlines, arriving in Tacloban at approximately 8:50am PST, where he was welcomed by
Palo Archbishop John F. Du together with local government officials
Leyte Governor Leopoldo Petilla, representative from
1st district of
Leyte Martin Romualdez,
Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez and
Palo, Leyte Mayor Remedios Petilla. The pope's trip to Leyte was shortened as decided by the Vatican due to
Tropical Storm Mekkhala (Amang). The pontiff led the celebration of Mass on a specially constructed stage, composed of
sawali or woven bamboo mats, at the airport. Among the languages used during the Mass were
Waray,
Cebuano,
English,
Filipino,
Hiligaynon,
Latin, At the Archbishop's Residence in
Palo, Francis had lunch with survivors of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) and of the earlier
Bohol earthquake. He then blessed the Pope Francis Center for the Poor, a facility in Palo funded by the
Pontifical Council Cor Unum. It has a clinic, chapel, home for the sick and elderly, and orphanage. Construction took five months and was completed in December 2014. The pope had a brief meeting with seminarians, priests, religious community members, and families of survivors of Typhoon Haiyan at the Palo Cathedral and blessed a mass grave of those who had died during the typhoon. He departed from Tacloban for Manila at 1:07pm PST, apologizing for having to leave four hours before his scheduled time. Francis' arrival at Villamor Air Base in Manila at around 2:00pm PST was greeted by high-ranking officials of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines and
Philippine National Police together with their families. Children and the sick lined the
apron and were blessed by the pope.
Day 4: January 18, Sunday At around 9:25am PST, Pope Francis entered the main gate along
España Boulevard at the
University of Santo Tomas. He walked through the
Arch of the Centuries and met briefly with representatives of various religions. Among those present were: •
Metropolitan Nektarios Tsilis of the
Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia • Venerable Master
Hsing Yun, a
Chinese Chan Buddhist monk representing the
Fo Guang Shan Monastery in
Taiwan • Rabbi Eliyahu Azaria, head of the
Jewish Synagogue in Makati • Maharaj Rajesh Sharma, a
Hindu priest • Bishop
Ephraim Fajutagana, the
Obispo Máximo XII of the
Philippine Independent Church and concurrent chair of the
National Council of Churches in the Philippines • Bishop Cesar Vicente Punzalan III, chairman of the board of the
Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches • Lilian Sison, former
UST Graduate School dean member,
Religions for Peace – Philippines • Julkipli Wadi, Dean of the UP Institute of Islamic Studies • Imam Ebra Moxir, President of the Imam Council of the Philippines • Former
Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno, Chairman of the Philippine Bible Society. After the meeting, Pope Francis circled the university in the popemobile and then met with about 24,000 youth representatives gathered at
Santo Tomas Field. The general public were also present in other parts of the university. After the Mass, the crowd sang the 1995 World Youth Day anthem "
Tell the World of His Love", followed by the visit's official theme song "
We Are All God's Children" led by
Jamie Rivera.
Day 5: January 19, Monday Pope Francis attended a leave-taking ceremony at the Presidential Pavilion in Villamor Air Base, with a sendoff by then-President Benigno Aquino III, his
Cabinet secretaries, and a number of Catholic bishops, before flying back to
Rome. The pope departed Manila at 10:12am PST on a chartered
Philippine Airlines Airbus A340-300 (flight PR8010, registered RP-C3439, callsign
Shepherd One). The delegation of religious officials and politicians who were present at the leave-taking ceremony of the pope at the airbase included: ==Economic implications==