No ID, no entry: Pope Francis given UST identification card

Pope Francis’ identification card

MANILA, Philippines—It seems like even a pope is not exempted from the University of Santo Tomas’ “No I.D. No Entry” policy.

As Pope Francis made a historic visit to the 400-year-old Catholic institution for the first time, he took home an official UST identification card as one of the many tokens he received during his visit.

The ID card, complete with his full name Jorge Mario Bergoglio and a special number 16112015-001, was handed to him by a boy before the Pope delivered his message to over 24,000 representatives from the country’s youth sector who filled the UST football field.

The young boy put the ID lace on the Pope, who lowered his head and warmly accepted it. Unlike the common UST IDs that feature a 1 x 1 size photo, the identification card of His Holiness is filled by a picture of him smiling and his hand raised in a wave.

The ID gives the 78-year-old Argentinian Pontiff an “Administration” position.

This is the third time a Pope visited the UST, which was granted the “pontifical” title by Pope Leo XIII in 1902. The UST, situated in Sampaloc, Manila, is the lone pontifical university in Asia.

Being given the title means the institution has “a special mission of spreading the Gospel and promoting the teachings of the Catholic Church.”