On June 29, 2009, at 5:00 o’ clock in the afternoon, the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Manila Cathedral) resounded with the song “Scio Cui Credidi” (I Know Him in Whom I Have Believed) as 12 bishops, 250 priests and more than a hundred religious congregations and thousands of lay faithful led by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales gathered in a Solemn Eucharist Celebration marking the close of the Pauline Year and, at the same time, commemorating the Pope’s Day.
In his homily, the Apostolic Nuncio in the Philippines Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, emphasized the partnership between the Apostles Peter and Paul. He exhorted us to continue the legacy of St. Paul; while at the same time calling to mind the opening of the “Year of the Priests” --- by focusing on the renewal of the clergy, in his oblative offering and commitment to the Lord Jesus, by proclaiming God’s Kingdom of peace and love. Likewise, at the behest of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines, this year is dedicated to the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary, in which the faithful are encouraged to pray for, and with the clergy in their imitation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.