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John Paul II (May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland - April 2, 2005, Vatican City)

I was made aware of this amazing man in 1995, when he came here for World Youth Day. At that time, I was not a practicing Catholic. I was in a protestant high school, but I would always insist that I am Catholic. During those days, we had a long holiday, perhaps as long as the Christmas break. On a whim, my mom asked my dad if he could drive us to Roxas Boulevard so that we could try our luck and maybe catch a glimpse of this pope as he passed by. We got there early, or so it seems, as there was no crowd yet. I did not really understand what World Youth Day (WYD) meant and how it would affect our lives. I knew that there was a Pope and that he ‘headed’ the Catholic Church, but apart from that it seemed like he was royalty and we were mere peasants.

So there I was, I had recently recovered from a bout of bronchopneumonia and by then was healthy enough to go traipsing around in the Manila area hoping that we were on the right route. After waiting for a half hour or so, we noticed that ever one was climbing up the middle island, and so like a true blue Filipino–we followed the crowd. A few minutes later, the Pope came along in his pope mobile. That moment was so ethereal. It seemed to last longer than it really did. The pope waves to the crowd and the multitude also waves back.

Fast forward to: Monday, 17 April 2000, Rome. I am in Paul VI auditorium, with the rest of the university students attending the UNIV 2000 congress, attending an audience with the Pope. The pope slowly comes out and a great applause greets him. He is slower and weaker than I remember from five years ago. By then, it had not been confirmed that the late pope was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, but it was still a far cry from what we had seen from the local TV coverage. The pope seems weaker and more frail than I had originally thought. (I have a fuzzy photograph, taken with a first generation digital camera. I have to look for it one of these days and post it here.)

A few days later, on Good Friday, I was amazed. The Pope was standing all throughout the reading or rather singing of the Gospel-and we all know how long that Gospel is on Good Friday, so much more if it is sung! Five minutes into the Gospel, I looked at the Pope, he looked tired, but he was hanging on. I did get to time the whole length of the Gospel, but it was sure more than 10 minutes. I was in St. Peter’s Square then, it was a warm day and some people around me had opted to sit on the floor or squat down because of the length of the Gospel. I was standing and I kept on standing thinking that if the Pope could do it, I could stand as well.

Fast forward again to: Sunday, 6 October 2002, Rome. I am again in St. Peter’s Square and I am grateful for the opportunity to be there once more. This time it is the Canonization of Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. The Pope is even more frail. He even delivers the homily seated. Little did we know that this would be the last time that we would visit this Pope.