World Youth Day 1995 (Filipino:
Pandaigdigang Araw ng Kabataan 1995) was a Catholic youth festival that took place from January 10–15, 1995 in Manila, Philippines. It was the first time for an Asian country to host the event. Pope John Paul II presided over the event, marking his second trip to the country as Pope after his visit in 1981, and also the last papal visit in the country of the 20th century and 2nd millennium.
Events
A week before the celebration of the World Youth Day proper, two representatives from each of countries all over the world gathered for an International Youth Forum (IYF) at the University of Santo Tomas. The Philippines sent eight representatives, while others were from the different Catholic religious youth organizations and campuses. These were the selected youth leaders and coordinators. During their five-day stay in UST, representatives were grouped and discussed issues and concerns laid out by the Episcopal Commission on Youth, on topics set months before.
The IYF was also a venue wherein few from these selected youth representative had able to have a short talk with the Pope. Young pilgrims gathered from many different parts of the world to celebrate God together, to learn other cultures and to speak as "brothers and sisters" among themselves. There was also a Mass where some youths directly received Communion from the Pope. Youth pilgrims gathered from different parts of the world to worship and talk together. Different activities were held, including a traditional Barrio Fiesta, where it was possible to search company and entertainment. During these days, Masses were celebrated every day in most parishes throughout the Philippines.
The closing Mass, held at Luneta Park, was estimated to have been attended by more than 5 to 10 million people, the second-largest papal gathering in history.
It was surpassed by the anniversary celebration of Catholic Charismatic group El Shaddai to coincidence with the birthday celebration of Bro. Mike Velarde last August 20 to 21, 1988 and August 20 to 21, 1994 and the anniversary celebration of Evangelical Charismatic Christian group Jesus is Lord Fellowship to coincidence with the birthday celebration of Bro. Eddie Villanueva last October 9, 1994.
The participants crowded the 61-hectare park and adjacent areas-Roxas Boulevard, Padre Burgos Drive, Taft Avenue, Pablo Ocampo, Paseo Palisoc, Julian Felipe, Fernando Ma. Guerrero, E. Makabenta, Magdalena Jalandoni, Leandro Locsin, Vicente Sotto, Pedro Bukaneg, Zolio Hilario, Manuel Argilla, Leona Florentino, Atang dela Rama, Jose W. Diokno Boulevard, Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, A. Mabini, Adriatico, Asuncion, Leveriza, Balingkit, Bagong Lipunan, Maginhawa, Lawin, Fidel A. Reyes, Castro, Quirino Avenue, San Andres, Remedios, Julio Nakpil, Alonzo, P. del Carmen, General Miguel Malvar Street, Dr. J. Quintos, Pedro Gil, Padre Faura, U.N. Avenue, Maria Y. Orosa, Churucca, Jorge Bocobo, San Carlos, Arquiza, Grey, A. Flores, Cortada, Marcelo H. del Pilar, L. Guerrero, Plaza Nuestra Senora de Guia, Alhambra, T.M. Kalaw Street, Escoda, Apacible, Leon Guinto Street, Felipe Agoncillo, General Luna, Gonzales, United Nations Avenue, Padre Burgos Avenue, Finance Road, Ayala Boulevard, Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Jones Bridge, MacArthur Bridge, Quezon Bridge, Rizal Avenue, Carlos Palanca Sr., P. Casal Street, General Solano, Nicanor Padilla, Gonzalo Puyat Street, Evangelista, Ronquillo, Estero Cegado, Germinal, Trinidad, Mabolo, Sales, Padre Gomez, Platerias, Palma, Carriedo, R. Hidalgo, Plaza Miranda, Villalobos, Z.P. de Guzman, F.R. Hidalgo Street, Carcer, Pasaje del Carmen, Concepcion Aguila, J. Nepomuceno, Arlegui, Fraternal, Vergara, Castillejos, Duque de Alba, Farnecio, Antonio Villegas, Natividad Almeda-Lopez, San Marcelino, Ayala Boulevard, D. Romualdez, Padre Faura, Apacible, Mahatma Gandhi, Angel Linao, Calixto Dyco, Syson, San Jorge, Nieto, Narra, Apitong, Dao, Lauan, Yakal, Mahogany, Tindalo, Narra, Guijo, Cristobal, Paz, Zulueta, Cuevas, Yangco, Leroy, Alfaro, Salvador, 13 de Agosto, Sto. Speulcro, Lopez Jaena, Santiago, Sagat, Felina, Icasiano, Lanuza Anak Bayan, Singalon, Tirona Benitez, Modesto, San Pascual and San Pedro.
Some of them came to the venue as early as three days before the event. They came not only from Metro Manila, but also from Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Abra, Baguio City, Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao, Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Aurora, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Marinduque, Quezon, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Rizal, Romblon, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate, Sorsogon, Antique, Aklan, Bacolod City, Guimaras, Iloilo City, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cebu City, Cebu, Mandaue City, Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Southern Leyte, Basilan, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro City, Camiguin, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Surigao del Norte, Cotabato, Davao City, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Surigao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. Also present were from Abkhazia, Afghanistan, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Åland Islands, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos Islands, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Federal Dependencies of Venezuela , Finland, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Madeira, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Melilla, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nagorno-Karabakh, Namibia, Nauru, Navassa Island, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Korea, Northern Cyprus, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Nueva Esparta, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Réunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Andrés and Providencia, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Somaliland, South Korea, South Ossetia, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Transnistria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, United States Virgin Islands, Uruguay, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The event saw the presence of Catholic representatives of all Chinese communities: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, and Singapore. Already on 12 January, the archbishop of Taipei, Joseph Ti-kang, celebrated mass with 5 priests of the "official" Chinese Roman Catholic Church. On 14 January, through Radio Veritas, the pope launches a message of reconciliation between the "official" and underground Chinese Church addressed to "all the Catholic faithful". At the end of the Mass in Luneta Park, the Pope greeted in Chinese, the language of China and Taiwan.
This was Pope John Paul II's last visit to the Philippines, as his scheduled return for the World Meeting of Families in January 2003 fell through due to the progression of Parkinson's disease.
Official song
The official song for World Youth Day 1995 was released in 1994, titled "Tell the World of His Love", composed by Trina Belamide.
Theme
"As the Father has sent me, so am I sending you". (Jn 20:21) the same as that of the World Youth Day of 1994, which was celebrated at the diocesan level on Palm Sunday of that year, fall on March 22.
John Paul II's assassination attempt
Ramzi Yousef, an Al-Qaeda member, attempted to assassinate the Pope in the Bojinka Plot, but the plan was discovered four days earlier and Yousef fled to Pakistan.
