Mass action

It was the year 1995. Pope John Paul II was in the Philippines to celebrate World Youth Day, and I was a delegate.

Throughout the 5 days of the event, I religiously (no pun intended) attended all the events. The last one - the Papal mass - was scheduled January 15, 1995. Since we were delegates, we were there the night before, camped near the Grandstand where the altar was located.

On the evening of the 14th, I fell asleep along with tens of thousands of delegates. When I woke up, there were millions of people around me. They were all standing up and anticipating the arrival of Pope John Paul II.

Suddenly, after seeing the millions of people around me, I had a moment of claustrophobia. The thought of being in the middle of millions overwhelmed me, and I decided to leave the event. Slowly, I inched my way out of the multitude, until I found myself along Taft Avenue.

Needless to say, I wasn't able to attend the Papal Mass. I just watched in inside a restaurant along U.N. Avenue.

Today, Pope Francis I will say mass in Quirino Grandstand. The exact place where the World Youth Day was held 20 years ago.

They're expecting an attendance of 6 million faithful, 1 million more than in 1995. And this year, I'm going to do what I wasn't able to do 20 years ago, hear and finish mass along with millions of Catholics.

This time, there's no turning back.