Pope Francis to Meet Filipino Families at SM MOA Arena on Papal Visit 2015

January 2015 marks the year in which His Holiness Pope Francis, will en route his apostolic trip to the Philippines with the goal of encountering Filipino families from all over the region. In support of the Pope’s advocacy, SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc. (SMLEI) together with the entire SM Group, will have the Mall of Asia Arena as the venue for the papal visit on January 16, 2015.

With its capacity to house over 15,000 guests, Mall of Asia Arena is a fitting venue for the Pope’s monumental visit. Mall of Asia Arena’s existing CCTV cameras provided by Mobotix, is at par with the same equipment used at the Vatican Apostolic Library at the Vatican with professional-grade, high-resolution security devices, aside from this enhanced surveillance system, management is placing additional measures to assure safety of not only His Holiness the Pope, but of all the guests who will be in attendance of the event. It is also assured that the venue will be equipped with adequate security presence who are well trained in handling huge crowded events in accordance with security protocols required by the organizers, Presidential Security Group and the Papal Guards. The Mall of Asia Arena is working closely with the government and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to assure a peaceful and manageable event.

Seen as a very rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of His Holiness Pope Francis, who will be delivering his message of “mercy and compassion” to all Filipino families, the SM Group foresees the millions of eager patrons to visit the Mall of Asia Complex. Preparations is underway in cooperation with the MOA Complex locators, Central Business Park, Mall of Asia Mall Management, and SM Land to make room for the anticipated guests, SM will convert the South Transport Terminal and SMX/Mall of Asia Arena Parking lot into holding areas for visiting patrons may not be accommodated inside Mall of Asia Arena.

“Mall of Asia Arena and the entire SM Group is deeply gratified to be in support of the Catholic Church and His Holiness Pope Francis’ advocacy of reaching out, inspiring and strengthening the devotion Filipino families through this event” says the Business Unit Head of Mall of Asia Arena, Mr. Arnel Gonzales.

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SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Incorporated or SMLEI is the lifestyle and entertainment solutions arm of SM Prime Holdings Inc. that offers the best in movies, events, leisure and technology. Mall of Asia Arena, one of the brands tucked under SMLEI, is known as the architectural “eyecon,” the Mall of Asia Arena is the venue for international sports and entertainment. Patterned after the centers abroad, the Mall of Asia Arena is the only stadium in the Philippines that has a floor dedicated to the Corporate Suites. Concert House to Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, J.Lo, Aerosmith, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift and the like, as well as sports center to the NBA and One FC,  the Mall of Asia Arena is not only a local stadium for international acts but is also a tourist destination.