Pope Francis to visit UST

By: Lito B. Zulueta - 10 years ago

Pope Francis. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle is set to hold a press conference 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Arzobispado de Manila in which he is expected to announce the itinerary of Pope Francis when he visits the Philippines January next year.

The visit will not only cover the Visayas, where the Pope will make a pastoral visit of churches destroyed by the earthquake last Oct.15 and communities worst hit by super typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) last November, but Manila as well.

According to very reliable sources, Pope Francis will hold a youth rally at the University of Santo Tomas.

No date has been specified for the papal visit and Cardinal Tagle is expected to announce it during the press conference, but the Pope will reportedly arrive in the Philippines around January 15 after a visit of Sri Lanka.

It will be the fourth time for a pope to visit UST, which was founded by Dominicans in 1611 and declared a “Pontifical University” by the Holy See in 1902 even ahead of European institutions.

UST was visited by Pope Paul VI in 1970 and by Pope now Saint John Paul II in 1981and 1995.
On Jan. 28, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI sent a papal legate to Manila and delivered a special message through satellite video to congratulate UST on its 400th anniversary.