Future saint’s handshake
ONE OF the highlights in my stay with the foreign service was shaking the hands of Pope John Paul II three times in three continents. He came to Manila in 1981 when I was “not officially feeling well.” Firstly, I was just recalled to Manila about two months before the end of my tour of duty, allegedly because I was not totally giving my heart and mind to martial law in Los Angeles. Secondly, a vice consul violated protocol by relaying to me an order to be the protocol officer of the Pope in his trip to Iloilo.
I believe JP II enjoyed his visit in Iloilo. Everybody around him had an ID. I respectfully whispered to His Holiness that the one without ID was his protocol officer. I did not recall kissing the hands of the Pope, but certainly, he shook mine.
Edsa Revolution occurred in 1986. From Hamburg, Germany, I was assigned to Austria in some dizzying capacities: ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Federal Republic of Austria; permanent representative to the UN Vienna; to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); to the United National Industrial Development Organization (Unido).
One evening, all the envoys accredited to Vienna were requested by President Waldheim to have an audience with Pope John Paul II at the Hofsburg Palace. When our turn came, my wife and I tried to kiss the hands of the pontiff, but he dissuaded us. As diplomats, alter egos of heads of state, we were expected to shake hands with the Pope who was the head of state of Vatican. JP II held my hands longer than those of others. The diplomatic queue was delayed while the Pope briefly reminisced on Manila, Edsa and Cory Aquino.
It was during my most interesting assignment in Nairobi, Kenya, that I last met the would-be saint. I was concurrently accredited to 12 East African states (with unique, incomparable natural attractions), such as Kenya (Masai Mara), Ethiopia (rift valley), Tanzania ( Mt. Kilimanjaro), Uganda (source of the Nile), Madagascar (rare flora and fauna), and Seychelles (the finest beaches on this planet). I was appointed ambassador to Kenya, and permanent representative to the UN in Nairobi, to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and to the UN Habitat.
Nairobi was cooler than Baguio. Kenya’s birdlife and wildlife were among the best in Africa. I spent one full week presenting my credentials to the president of Seychelles, since there was only one flight weekly back to Nairobi.
During his visit to Kenya, JP II met with the diplomatic corps in the VIP lounge of the airport. For the third and last time we shook hands and, again, the diplomatic line was held, with the Pope recalling Vienna and Manila.
Photos of JP II, a future saint, shaking and holding hands with a not very religious former envoy still grace the study room of the latter.
—NELSON D. LAVIÑA,
retired ambassador,
