The encounter of the current leader of Catholic Church, Pope Francis, at the oldest university in the country, University of Santo Thomas (UST) next year on January 18, 2015 will be open also to all youth not only to the Thomasians.
See Also: Pope Francis January 15-19, 2015 Philippine Visits Itinerary & Schedules
Executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Youth, Fr. Conegundo Garganta, said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas, that the 24, 000 pre-selected youth will be given tickets. But those who don’t have tickets, including adults are also welcome to the venue.
“The Encounter with the Pope event is open to all young people. Those without tickets may instead proceed to the quadrangle. Included in the list of pre-selected representatives are the youth from various parishes of the Archdiocese of Manila, youth organizations, and from Catholic schools,” he said.
After Pope Francis’ encounter at UST, the pope will be heading to Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park for his concluding mass before his departure to Rome, Italy in the following day.
Pope Francis will be visiting the country on January 15 to 19, 2015. This will be the first time that the current Pope will visit the country. He will also go to  Tacloban City, where he will hold a mass and will meet with the survivors of Yolanda (Typhoon Haiyan).
Meanwhile, former president and now Manila City Mayor Joseph Estrada declared a four day holiday, suspending the cl(–foul word(s) removed–) and government work on January 15 to 19, 2015 for the highly-anticipated Papal Visit.