Along the provincial highway in Barangay Culis, Municipality of Hermosa, Bataan stands the National Shrine and Parish of Saint John Paul II, a sacred landmark of memory, mercy, and migration. The church was elevated from a diocesan shrine to a national shrine on January 29, 2023.

On February 21, 1981, Saint Pope John Paul II came to Morong, Bataan and celebrated the Holy Eucharist for the so-called boat people from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. These were refugees fleeing the violence of the Indochina Wars, who found temporary shelter and hope at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center in Morong. For many of them, the papal visit became a powerful sign that they were not forgotten, and that the Church stood beside them in exile and uncertainty. In time, when the refugees were resettled in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the processing center itself was transformed into what is now the Bataan Technological Parks, Incorporated.

To preserve this extraordinary moment of faith and hospitality, and to honor the immense love of the Diocese of Balanga for Saint Pope John Paul II, the papal altar in Morong was reconstructed and a Diocesan Memorial Shrine was built through the collaboration of the Church, civil authorities, and provincial government officials. This memorial shrine was blessed on February 21, 2011, exactly thirty years after the Pope’s historic apostolic visit. From the beginning, the vision was clear. The Diocese dreamed of expanding the site into a global pilgrimage church, especially for migrants and refugees, a living reminder that the Filipino spirit of welcome had once embraced thousands of displaced Asians seeking new life.

However, because the land belonged to the national government, construction of a full church could not proceed in Morong. Still, the Diocese did not abandon the vision. The small chapel of San Vicente Ferrer in Barangay Culis, Hermosa, located along the Roman super highway, was chosen to be elevated as the new Diocesan Memorial Shrine of Saint Pope John Paul II. This decision also responded to the growing pastoral needs of Hermosa, where a larger church was urgently required to serve both residents and travelers passing through the gateway of Bataan.

Amid the uncertainties and hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shrine was finally completed, dedicated, and consecrated on February 21, 2021, marking the fortieth anniversary of Saint Pope John Paul II’s apostolic visit.