Ringing of church bells to welcome Pope Francis this January 15 sought
“LET THEM RING ALL OVER OUR LAND!!!”
Socrates Villegas, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop and current president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, requested the simultaneous pealing of all church bells nationwide as Pope Francis arrives to the Philippines this January 15.
In a statement first posted on his Facebook page, the Archbishop said that the ringing of church bells throughout the country should be done at exactly 5:45 PM of that day “to signal the arrival of the Holy Father.”
“This will be a symbolic gesture of welcome to the Holy Father calling on the people who are unable to see him personally to at least pray for the Pope for the duration of his Philippine visit,” the Archbishop explained.
As has been reported previously by The Filipino Scribe, Pope Francis’s flurry of public activities will begin on January 16, when he goes to Malacanang Palace to pay a courtesy call to President Benigno Aquino III.
After meeting the President, the Pope will officiate a mass in the Manila Cathedral with selected bishops, priests, and members of the laity. Later that night, he will take part in the Encounter with Families to be held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Argentinian pontiff is scheduled to spend most of January 17 at Palo and Tacloban, Leyte – two areas hard-hit by super typhoon “Yolanda” late 2013.
His last two public activities will be on January 18. It is the Encounter with the Youth to be held at the University of Santo Tomas and the Concluding Mass at the Quirino Grandstand. He will fly back to Rome the next morning.
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