Papal visit to Tacloban still on

Pope Francis prays in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary, on the occasion of the Immaculate Conception feast, in Rome, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014. AP

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte—The Archdiocese of Palo assured the public Tuesday that Pope Francis will proceed with his visit to Tacloban City and Palo in January.

“The visit of the Holy Father will proceed,” Fr. Al Chris Militante, information and social communications officer of the archdiocese, told a news conference in Palo Tuesday morning.

He said the preparations by the different committees were in full swing.

Francis is set to visit the Philippines from January 15 to 19 and is scheduled to arrive in Leyte on January 17. He will say Mass on the apron of the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban and share a meal with survivors of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) and the destructive earthquake that hit Bohol and Cebu last year in Palo.

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