His Holiness Pope Francis will bring his message of “mercy and compassion” to at least 11 different venues in the province of Leyte and Metro Manila during his Apostolic Visit to the Philippines on January 15-19, 2015.
Pope Francis is expected to arrive in Manila from Sri Lanka, the first leg of his Asian trip, 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.
In Leyte Province in Eastern Visayas, Pope Francis will visit the Archdiocese of Palo. He will offer Mass near Tacloban Airport in the morning of January 17 and will have lunch with the poor and survivors of natural calamities at the residence of the Archbishop of Palo. Afterwards he will bless the Pope Francis Center for the Poor in Palo, and visit the Cathedral of Our Lord’s Transfiguration (Palo Cathedral) to meet with priests and women and men religious.
On January 18, the Pope will meet religious leaders and young people at the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas in Manila. In the afternoon, he will go on a motorcade for the Concluding Mass at Quirino Grandstand in Rizal (Luneta) Park.
Pope Francis will leave for Rome on January 19.
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