Pope John Paul II-Manila visit — POPE John Paul II waves to the huge crowd inside his Popemobile during the 1995 World Youth Day in Manila. FILE PHOTO

1981

February 17 – Pope John Paul II arrives in the Philippines for his first official visit to the country as Pope. He is met at Manila International Airport by Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin and President Ferdinand Marcos, who had “lifted” martial law ahead of the visit.

February 17-22 – During his six-day visit, he speaks with the youth at the University of Santo Tomas, the poor of Tondo, Manila, landowners and workers in Bacolod City, war refugees in Morong, Bataan, and representatives of Catholic organizations in Iloilo. He also celebrates Masses in Cebu, Davao and Baguio and speaks over Radio Veritas.

February 22 – A farewell ceremony at Manila International Airport is held for the Pope’s departure.

1995

January 12 – The Pope arrives in Manila and is met by President Fidel Ramos and Cardinal Sin at the airport. An estimated 3 million Filipinos line the streets to greet him.

January 13 – Pope visits President Ramos in Malacañang, then celebrates Mass with delegates of the International Youth Forum at UST. He also addresses some 200,000 cheering students and academicians, also at UST.

January 14 – Hundreds of thousands troop to PICC as the Pope celebrates Holy Mass to mark the fourth centenary of the Archdiocese of Manila and the Dioceses of Cebu, Caceres and Nueva Segovia.

January 15 – Four million people attend the Mass led by the Pope at the closing of the 1995 World Youth Day in Manila’s Rizal Park, one of the biggest crowds in a papal event in history.

January 16 – The Pope leaves Manila for Papua New Guinea.

Compiled by Inquirer Research /Sources: Inquirer Archives