‘I wasn’t supposed to be there’: An almost-encounter with St. John Paul II in PHL

Editor's Note: What's it like to meet a Pope up close? Back in 1995, a student had that rare chance and he recounts that experience here.


As a seminarian, I was one of those volunteers assigned at the International Youth Forum, a nucleus of the World Youth Day in 1995, which was participated by hundreds of delegates from different countries.

 

I was made part of the staff for the event by the university's Office of Student Affairs. Perhaps they trusted us more because we were seminarians. Unbeknownst to the Vatican organizers, however, I was also part of the official student publication, The Varsitarian. 

 

The opportunity to be steps away from Pope John Paul II—now a saint—came with the Mass he officiated for the participants there, in line with his visit to UST for the World Youth Day on January 13, 1995. The Mass was held at the UST Central Seminary, the smaller and more exclusive venue that was enough for the forum's participants. I was assigned as photographer for the seminary and was able to get in despite limited access.

 

During the Mass, delegates were given the chance to approach the Pope and kiss his ring. There was a ticket for that said privilege, which I didn't have. But it didn't take away much from the experience of having him a few steps away.

 

While keeping in mind that I had to do my job to take pictures, I have to admit that I was also emotional. I could see how the delegates who approached the Pope would cry as they kissed his ring. They were just in awe of this very holy man. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Even watching it as a bystander, I could feel something happen in my soul.

 

Despite the tears, the encounter was not stiff and very spontaneous, very much like how we knew the late Pope to be. Perhaps it was because he was an actor that he could project himself well, especially to the youth. It was a blessing to see this in person, to be a few steps away.

 

I wasn't supposed to be there, and yet I was. It made such an impression on me, and of course, as a student-journalist, I had to put it in words.

 

Perhaps it was a feeling of inspiration that made it easy for me to write. It was just effortless and I was able to write immediately. Normally I would have a hard time, but I didn't need prodding with this one. The article kind of wrote itself and I was just guiding it into being.

 

The result were two articles for the special edition of The Varsitarian—the only time that I had two articles for the publication.

 

But John Paul II's inspiration has stuck with me beyond the pages. What I carried in my heart after that visit was his message to take care of the youth. I am not very charismatic, unlike him, but I have it in my heart that I will support the young, as they are—as the late Pope would say—not just the future of the church, but its present.

 

In parish churches where I've been assigned, I made sure to always allot not only spiritual, but also financial, support for the youth group there. That is because of the impact of John Paul, of his love for the youth.

 

I've come to understand that the Pope's affinity to the youth is because that phase in life is such a crucial time for a person. It can make or break you, so there needs to be support, including from the church. In your youth, you might also lose your faith because of secularization, and that is something we watch out for.

 

It has been 20 years since the leader of the Roman Catholic Church came to the Philippines, and now we are being blessed by the visit of Pope Francis, an equally charismatic leader to whom many Filipinos could connect to, especially because he captures the imagination of the poor.

 

While his intention for visiting is primarily to extend his sympathies to the victims of super typhoon Yolanda and the Bohol earthquake, Pope Francis is also meeting with the youth in UST, at the very same site that saw three other papal encounters.

 

Hopefully, the participants for this upcoming encounter will realize that they were chosen not because they are righteous and good. We have to approximate God's reason for it, we have to at least make sense of it, we have to articulate it in our own way. It should be understood in light of the Scriptures, where the Lord said, "I have chosen you."

 

Since God had a hand in choosing them for the privilege of meeting the Pope, they should keep in mind that it is for God's purpose—to transmit the faith. Not just in a devotional way, but in a way that will transform their priorities and tastes in life to a preference for simplicity. May they aspire to help the poor, aspire to make the world—more importantly, their beloved Philippines—a better place. 

 

 

Fr. Isidro Marinay has been the parist priest of St. Alphonsus Mary Di Liguori Parish at Magallanes Village in Makati City since April 2011. He was writer-editor for the Witness section of UST's The Varsitarian, and would eventually write a number of books, among them the biography of the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin.