Maria Mercedes Arrastia y Reinares vda. de Tuason also known as Mercedes Tuason (born September 27, 1930) in

Lubao, Pampanga Lubao, officially the Municipality of Lubao ( pam, Balen ning Lubao; fil, Bayan ng Lubao), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 173,502 people. It is noted f ...

, is a

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

diplomat and former ambassador to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. An alumnus of Saint Scholastica's Catholic college in Manila, Tuason has served in the field of nutritional sciences and was appointed

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the wor ...

to the

in 2009. In the Philippines, Tuason is particularly known as an advocate of the

Holy Rosary Holy Rosary may refer to: * Rosary, a set of prayer beads used in a traditional Roman Catholic devotion * The Holy Rosary, a prayer based on the rosary See also * Holy Rosary Academy (disambiguation), one of several Roman Catholic schools with ...

devotion and her roles in many charitable organizations, namely the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

foundation. In May 2003

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

awarded Tuason the ''Magistral dame'' of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. On May 23, 2012,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

awarded Tuason the ''Grand Cross of Merit'' for the title

Order of Pius IX The Order of Pope Pius IX ( it, Ordine di Pio IX), also referred as the Pian Order ( it, Ordine Piano), is a papal order of knighthood originally founded by Pope Pius IV in 1560. Currently, it is the highest honor conferred by the Holy See (bein ...

due to her charitable works and diplomatic service to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, a coveted title that was not granted to ladies until November 1993. Currently, the

is the third to the highest ranking order granted by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

through chivalry, the highest being the

Supreme Order of Christ The Supreme Order of Christ ( it, Ordine Supremo del Cristo) was the highest order of chivalry awarded by the pope. According to some scholars, it owes its origin to the same Order of Christ of the Knights Templar, from which came the Order of ...

. Tuason is also known for her anti-abortion activism and cooperation with the

Archdiocese of Manila In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

in challenging the legalization of

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

through the

Reproductive Health Bill The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, also known as the Reproductive Health Law or RH Law, and officially designated as Republic Act No. 10354, is a Philippine law that provided universal access to methods on contracept ...

. Tuason has fluency in writing and speaking in Tagalog,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, Spanish and

Italian language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about ...

and has partial fluency in the

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

dialect.

Personal life

Prior to being appointed ambassador to the Holy See, Tuason attended Saint Scholastica's Catholic college where she obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in nutritional sciences, where she had also received the ''Pax Award''. Mercedes had 7 children with Jose Ramon Del Rosario Tuason, a prominent businessman. Together they had Jose, Ramon, Iñaki, Rossana, Karen, Paolo and Jingy. In 1970, Tuason was widowed when her husband Jose Tuason died in a plane crash. This left her with the responsibility of raising 7 children. During the

Martial Law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

established by former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Tuason later settled in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. The death of her husband brought her closer with the Church and various other religious activities. Tuason is known for her religious devotion and piety which she advocates in the restoration of the

in common practice among

Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...

in her country. Tuason also began her own charitable foundation, called ''Tuason Community Center Foundation'' which she personally ran from 1992 to 1995. Tuason is among the top 100 list of men and women given prominent status and academic recognition in her alumni college.

Necrological Service of Corazon Aquino

On August 4, 2009, Tuason gave a funeral eulogy to the deceased former Philippine President Corazon Aquino at the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in

Manila, Philippines Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

. In the eulogy, Tuason noted that she and Aquino had opposing political views regarding the

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

and

EDSA revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...

of 1986. Tuason noted that Aquino's death on a ''First Saturday of the month'', a pious date in reference to the

Our Lady of Fatima Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulat ...

. In the same eulogy, Tuason also mentioned Aquino's kindness when she once offered Tuason the actual rosary by Sister

Lucia Santos Lucia may refer to: Arts and culture * ''Lucía'', a 1968 Cuban film by Humberto Solás * ''Lucia'' (film), a 2013 Kannada-language film * '' Lucia & The Best Boys'', a Scottish indie rock band formerly known as ''LUCIA'' * "Lucia", a Swedish c ...

, the

Marian Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

visionary of Our Lady of Fatima apparitions, to whom Aquino had a particular religious devotion.

Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See

Our Lady of Mediatrix of All Grace - Lipa 4

Though Tuason was already well-acquainted with religious work since the 1980s, in 2007, Tuason became involved with the Cenacle Group, a prayer group guided by Bishop Federico Escaler. In 2007, Tuason was granted the ''Pax Award'' a title given to alumni Scholasticans for her charitable works and involvements. On October 2, 2009, Tuason presented her diplomatic and academic credentials to

in the summer residence of Castel Gandolfo palace as the new ambassador-extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the

Republic of the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

to the

. Tuason also holds concurrent jurisdiction over the Sovereign Military

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

as a ''Dame of Magistral Grace''. She met with the

pontiff A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was la ...

and discussed major issues concerning

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the Philippines, more specifically the ongoing

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

storm at the time ''Ketsana'' / ''Ondoy''. After presenting her credentials to

, Tuason was escorted to the

Blessed Sacrament The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of the ...

chapel in

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a Church (building), church built in the Renaissance architecture, Renaissanc ...

and was given the rare privilege of visiting the underground,

tomb of Saint Peter Saint Peter's tomb is a site under St. Peter's Basilica that includes several graves and a structure said by Vatican authorities to have been built to memorialize the location of Saint Peter's grave. St. Peter's tomb is alleged near the west end ...

. In February 2012, Tuason obtained ecclesiastical license from the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

for the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

Saint Clare of Assisi Clare of Assisi (born Chiara Offreduccio and sometimes spelled Clara, Clair, Claire, Sinclair; 16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253) was an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, ...

from Foligno, Italy to tour the Philippines for the first time in 800 years. On May 23, 2012, Tuason was awarded by the Vatican with the Order of Pius IX, Class of Dame. The former Holy See's Chief of Protocol, Archbishop

Fortunatus Nwachukwu Fortunatus Nwachukwu (born 10 May 1960) is a Nigerian prelate of the Catholic Church who represents the Holy See at several international organizations in Geneva. He has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1994. He has been a ...

, assisted by Monsignor Guillermo Javier Karcher, 1st Class Attaché of the Secretariat of State, presented the award to Ambassador Tuason. Nwachukwu noted that

has decided to give the award to Tuason for her ''"significant contributions in the advancement of bilateral relations between the Holy See and the Philippines''". The award is signed by Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican diplomat. A cardinal, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine o ...

. On May 27, 2012, Tuason became a televised speaker at the Lady of All Nations Prayer Day, held in

Amsterdam, Netherlands Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban are ...

. In her speech before 1,200 attendees, Tuason emphasized the need for devotion to the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

and highlighted a specific Marian devotion unique to her preference,

Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace ( es, María, Mediadora de Toda-Gracia; tl, María, Tagapamagitan ng Lahat ng Biyaya) is a Marian apparition that allegedly took place in the Carmelite Monastery of Lipa, Batangas, Philippines, to a former Carmelit ...

. On August 21, 2012, in a recent interview at the Office of the Ambassador of the Philippines to the Vatican, Tuason noted her feelings of happiness and joy with the upcoming canonization of Blessed

Pedro Calungsod Pedro Calungsod ( es, Pedro Calúñgsod or archaically ; mid-1650s – April 2, 1672), also known as Peter Calungsod and Pedro Calonsor, was a Catholic Filipino-Visayan migrant, sacristan and missionary catechist who, along with the Spanish ...

. In addition, Tuason released an official press statement for a

Triduum A triduum (plural: ''tridua'') is a religious observance lasting three days. Major tridua The best-known and most significant example today is the liturgical Paschal Triduum (the three days from the evening of Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday). ...

Holy Mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...

beginning on October 18–20, 2012 at the Basilica of Saint Augustine, followed by another at the

Church of the Gesu Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, and culminating in the

Basilica of Saint Mary Major The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the large ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

for various pilgrims that are coming to

. Tuason further noted that many

are expected to join the canonization rites, especially the Filipino bishops of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Tuason also noted that there are three images or statues, all contending to be chosen for the official image of Blessed

for public veneration. On January 7, 2013, Tuason participated in the

Vatican Radio Vatican Radio ( it, Radio Vaticana; la, Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, ...

show discussing the diplomatic ties of the

with various global countries. In the interview, Tuason lamented the lack of religious education among the youth. In particular, Tuason noted that the world and current forms of addictive media are responsible for the

introvert The traits of extraversion (also spelled extroversion Retrieved 2018-02-21.) and introversion are a central dimension in some human personality theories. The terms ''introversion'' and ''extraversion'' were introduced into psychology by Carl J ...

attitudes of Catholic youth with regards to physically engaging with others.Archived a
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and th
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Charitable Positions

Tuason served the following Catholic charities and secular organizations: * Red Cross Charities 1987-1993 - Director * Family Values Foundation of the Philippines - Treasurer * Administrative Council of Tuason Community Center Foundation 1992-1995 * Bigay Puso (English: Give Love) Foundation - 1986 * Administrative Council of the Center for Peace - 1989 * Administrative Council of the Hero Foundation - 1990 * Administrative Council of the Evelio Javier - 1991 * Foundation of the Mission Angels - 1997 * Administrative Council of Our Lady of Mercy Halfway House Inc. - 2000 * Council of the Mission Society of the Philippines - 2002 * Council of the Crusade for the Rosary of Families - 2007 - Vice President * Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the Holy See, 2009–Present

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrastia-Tuason, Mercedes 1930 births Living people People from Pampanga Ambassadors of the Philippines to the Holy See Filipino women ambassadors