Pope Francis in Villamor for departure rites, flight home

Pope Francis waves before boarding his plane as he departs Manila, Philippines on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015. AP

MANILA, Philippines — Pope Francis arrived at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City at 9:32 a.m. on Monday from the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila for his 10 a.m. scheduled flight to Rome.

The pontiff arrived after a 28-minute ride from Manila.

During his trip to Pasay City, His Holiness took the pope mobile and waved to tens of thousands who waited along the route of his convoy under a bright morning sun.

At times, the pope mobile crawled through streets that became narrow because of the swollen crowd.

After the Pope passed by, many jumped up for joy and some even threw their arms in the air, as if to express victory and jubilation. Most had wide smiles on their faces.

His Holiness was met at Villamor by President Benigno Aquino III, government officials, church dignitaries and well-wishers, including hundreds of youth who sang and danced for the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.

Farewell ceremonies are set to be held for the Pope at the Presidential Pavillion in Villamor.

He will then board a Philippine Airlines plane to Rome.

The  Pope concluded his visit to the  country with the  traditional visit  at the University of Santo Tomas Sunday morning  and a Mass  at the Luneta Park, in Manila in the afternoon — the biggest gathering  attended by millions of people.

He started his visit with a courtesy call to President Benigno Aquino III  in Malacanang on Friday, followed by a Mass for the clergy and the fathful at the  Manila Cathderal in Manila,  and  a meeting with families in  Mall of Asia  Arena in Pasay City.

One of the  highlights of his visit was his trip on Saturday (January 17) to Tocloban City, one of the areas worst hit by super typhoon  Yolanda in November 2013.

The  Pope  braved tropical storm “Amang”  to visit   the Yolanda victims and  hold a Mass for them.  He  had to cut short his trip  though because of bad weather.

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