Faithful hoping to see Pope Francis patiently wait for UST gates to open

The Catholic faithful who hope to get just glimpse of Pope Francis and are not members of the Thomasian community were patiently waiting in their designated lines at the University of Santo Tomas campus early Sunday morning.

 

At 4:37 a.m., the gates designated for non-Thomasians on Dapitan Street had yet to open. UST earlier announced that the gates would open at 4 a.m.

It's 4:44 am, gates are still closed, people still wait in line patiently. pic.twitter.com/mxCcfDLUVk

— Danessa Rivera (@danessarivera) January 17, 2015

 

A police officer told GMA News Online that a trickle of people started arriving at the UST Saturday afternoon, with whole crowds arriving by midnight.

 

Barangay 470 tanod Boyet, meanwhile, said people started arriving on Dapitan Street at 10 p.m., Saturday.

 

"Kaya nagkagulo na pila, hindi na makontrol. Pero hindi naman nila maipipilit gusto nila," Doria said.

 

Pope Francis is scheduled to meet with religious leaders and some 24,000 representatives from the youth sector at the UST Sunday morning.

 

The UST encounter is one of two main events on the pope's schedule for Sunday.

 

In the afternoon, the pope will head for the Quirino Grandstand to celebrate a concluding Mass. Around six million people are expected to attend the Mass. — DVM, GMA News