page_title: Pope Francis's visit to the Philippines
section_title: Day 1: January 15, Thursday
hierarchical_section_title: Pope Francis's visit to the Philippines / Visit / Day 1: January 15, Thursday
caption_attribution_description: English: President Benigno S. Aquino III and His Holiness Pope Francis pass through the Foyer Honor Guards during the arrival ceremony at the 250th PAW of the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City for the State Visit and Apostolic Journey to the Republic of the Philippines on Thursday afternoon (January 15, 2015)
context_page_description: 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 and John Paul II, and the first in the 21st century and 3rd millennium with the last visit by John Paul II in 1995. Besides Manila, Francis visited Tacloban and Palo, Leyte, to encourage the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. John Paul II had also gone beyond Manila to Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo, Legazpi, Bataan, and Baguio, from February 17 to 22, 1981. The Filipinos nicknamed Francis Lolo Kiko as a term of endearment, which he commended. Around 6–7 million attended Francis' final Mass at Luneta, surpassing the crowd at World Youth Day 1995 in the same venue. The theme of Francis' 2015 visit was "Mercy and Compassion".
context_section_description: 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. He was welcomed by President Benigno Aquino III and several other government officials and church leaders. He 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 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 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.
caption: President Benigno Aquino III and Pope Francis at the arrival ceremony
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