After months of construction, the seven-storey Pope John Paul II Memorial Tower near SM City at the Bacolod Reclamation Area, will be formally turned over to the Catholic Church and the Bacolod Diocese, through Bacolod Bishop Vicente M. Navarra, D.D.

The historic turnover will be graced by the holy presence of the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Edward Adams, along with several bishops, archbishops and the religious from various dioceses all over the country.

The memorial tower, according to its principal sponsor and donor, businessman-philantrophist Simplicio A. Palanca, will place the City of Bacolod and Province of Negros Occidental in the map among the country’s major points of destination for religious pilgrimages, the memorial tower being the first of its kind in Asia, serving as a lasting tribute to the late Roman Pontiff, the first Pope to ever conduct his pastoral visit to this city and province on February 21, 1981, 29 years ago today.

Among those slated to arrive here for the historic turnover rites are Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Capiz Archbishop Onesimo Gordoncillo, Bishops Jose Advincula of San Carlos City, Patricio Buzo of Kabankalan City, John Du of Dumaguete City, Antonio Tobias of Novaliches, Camilo Gregorio of Batanes, also former bishop of Bacolod, and several others.

Religious pilgrims who will be visiting the memorial tower will have the opportunity to get a panoramic view of the capital city and its environs from the top of the seven-storey structure via a glass-encased elevator lift which can carry four persons at a time. Bigger-than-life photos of the Pope can also be seen in the memorial tower. Giant telescopes are among the amenities slated to be installed for viewing purposes, an area for religious photos and mementoes, a prayer room, among others.

The memorial tower stands near the same spot where the Pope celebrated holy mass when he arrived in the city where he addressed a huge crowd of Catholic faithfuls, considered the biggest ever assembled, not counting thousands more who went out of their way to watch the Pontiff during a parade in a religious procession on board his Pope Mobile, 29 years ago.*