26 years

The Pope has died. Twenty-four years ago I saw his back from very far away. He was all in white, under a canopy. There were a lot of people and I could barely see. It was a very hot day. He was saying Mass at Quezon City Memorial Circle. I could barely hear what he was saying. After the Mass, we walked through Quezon Avenue because the roads were all blocked from traffic. There were balloons and confetti everywhere.

His last visit, was the tenth anniversary of World Youth Day. Lynette was hyper-active with organizing her group's vigil and activities as they stayed over night at Rizal Park. She was so proud that the Pope said he was so happy at the number of people who came to celebrate. There were four million in attendance.

Years from now I will remember that I had watched the news on television for a couple of days. They had announced that he had been given the Last Rites (Anointing of the Sick). CNN gave bulletins of his progressive deterioration. I finally heard the news off his death on television a few minutes after it was announced. Ara and I were in the room watching The Village and the concert of the Blue Man group.We caught the announcement after we had finished watching. It was around four in the morning.