Everywhere in Manila on Jan. 17, 1995, from Luneta to Taft Avenue, the throngs that had gathered to see Pope John Paul II were cheering, "John Paul two, we love you."
On the day the Pope was due to fly out of Manila, my son Chino, nephew Raymond and I hiked from Vito Cruz to the Apostolic Nunciature on Taft Avenue where the pontiff was staying for his visit. Like thousands others, we staked out in front of the Nunciature, hoping to catch a glimpse of John Paul II as his "Popemobile" emerged from the Nunciatures iron gates. At the very least, we knew he would wave at us.
We had a feeling the Pope could hear us, and as an expression of affection, we started chanting, "John Paul two, we love you. John Paul two, we love you."
And lo and behold! All of a sudden, without fanfare, the French windows of the balcony facing Taft Avenue burst open, and the Pope emerged smiling and waving.
"John Paul II loves you, too even more," he declared through a megaphone.
And then in a voice laden with emotion, he told the crowd, "Goodbye."
Most of us were smiling, even through our tears.
Though the Business Class section of the plane was converted into a little room for the Pope (complete with Skybed), the Pope chose to rest on seat IA of the aircraft.
Sometime during the five-hour flight, wherein he had a lunch of beef followed by fresh fruits for dessert, the pontiff walked up to the cockpit to thank and bless the pilot, Capt. Johnny Andrews, and his crew.
"Thank you for the very nice flight" he told the pilots. Then turning to Dominguez, he added, "And this is a first-class airline."
I wonder where that particular A 300 is now and if there is a marker of sorts on seat IA proclaiming, "Pope John Paul II sat here."
"Watching the Pope pray after Mass was truly inspiring. I hoped then that I could learn to pray like him with total concentration," the former President says.
Cory Aquino was invited by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to be part of her official delegation to the Popes funeral, but she politely declined.
Cory acknowledges the moral influence the Pope wielded over his flock during the dictatorship, when he spoke for freedom and human rights. Coming from a country gripped by the vise of totalitarian rule for decades, the Pope championed human freedoms wherever he went.
Was it a coincidence then that God gave the world of Catholics and non-Catholics alike a Polish-born Pope in the second half of the 20th century, when oppressive regimes ruled the world? And now those regimes, from Romania to the Philippines, are just history.
And so one lovely day under the bright Italian bright sky, in a formal black blouse borrowed from a sister and a long skirt borrowed from a friend, I walked past the iron gates of the Vatican, past the towering Swiss Guards and into an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime moment.
An audience with the Pope in his biblioteca.
Actually, the audience was for President Aquino and her entourage, which included then Labor Secretary Frank Drilon, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Dominguez and Agrarian Reform Secretary Philip Juico. After their private meeting, the Pope and the President moved to the biblioteca (where he receives dignitaries), and he gave a short speech.
I was at the far end of the hall, behind the cordon that separated the members of the press from the dignitaries. After all, we were there to document the event, not primarily to participate in it.
Again, lo and behold! In a moment that was to matter to us for the rest of our lives, the Pope suddenly walked up to where the press was and smiled a beatific smile. An aide or was it his photographer suddenly unhooked the cordon that separated us from the Pontiff.
And he reached out to us, the way Christ did in his time, even to those who were just looking on from the sidelines.
I found myself first in line! The Pope just stopped right in front of me.
I dropped to my knees and kissed his ring, and the rest of the press delegation (which included Assistant Press Secretary Mila Alora, RTVM chief Maria Montelibano, Sammy Santos of the Manila Chronicle, Vangie Sarenas of Balita, and presidential photographer Val Rodriguez followed. The Popes aides then started giving us rosaries.
And then I realized that since I was first in line and everyone was caught unprepared by the Popes crossing over to us, no one was able to take my picture. So I fell in line again.
No one shooed me away and the Pope didnt look like he minded.
For didnt Christ once preach that we all deserved a second chance?
John Paul II, I truly love you!