Or was it? Sunday our editor, Lydia Chavez, took a photo of a motorcade in progress. Word was that it was the President of the Philippines, but no one knew for sure.
His excellency Benigno S. Aquino III, did come to the Mission to attend mass, but on Saturday. Jefferson McCarley reports that he had to cancel one of the secrets on his Mission Secrets Bicycle Tour because of Aquino’s visit.
So was it Aquino on Sunday as well? How many dignitaries pass through the Mission, anyway?
His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III came to Mission Dolores Basilica for Mass on Sunday, not Saturday, though a majority of Saturday and Sunday events in the area were either postponed or cancelled due to security concerns in preparation for the visit of the President of the Philippines and his cabinet members. This was confirmed by Mission Dolores Basilica Staff, and I was present at the mass. Mission Dolores hosts many dignitaries quite often, though it is not always used for official visits. Such as the President’s visit on Sunday, and His Holiness Pope John Paul II’s visit to San Francisco on September 17, 1987. This is because Mission Dolores is the oldest building in San Francisco and birthplace of the region. It is the 6th Mission of the 21 Missions of California.