PH nominee to Vatican seeks prayer for CA nod

FILE: “Ipagdasal po natin ang smooth confirmation sa Commission on Appointment and then ang agreement po ng Vatican. Malaking step na po ito, salamat kay President Duterte for nominating me,” Princesa said in an interview over Church-run Radyo Veritas. (Photo by Leandro Neumann Ciuffo/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

MANILA — Philippine Ambassador to the Vatican nominee Grace “Nanay Amba” Relucio-Princesa urged the faithful to pray for the Commission on Appointments (CA) to confirm her as ambassador to the Holy See.

“Ipagdasal po natin ang smooth confirmation sa Commission on Appointment and then ang agreement po ng Vatican. Malaking step na po ito, salamat kay President Duterte for nominating me,” Princesa said in an interview over Church-run Radyo Veritas.

At the same time, Princesa believed that God prepared her for the position to represent Filipinos in Rome, and for having enough knowledge in different issues including migration, human trafficking, and climate change.

Princesa said that her experience being the Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Arab Emirates and as someone close to the Church would help her in her new task.

“Actually po, sa tingin ko hinanda lang ako ni Lord sa mga issues na issue din po ng Vatican, issue din ng Pilipinas which is migration and trafficking. God allowed me for masteral immigration parang ako pa lang ata yung ambassador na tinest ni Lord na may masterado sa media and then climate change po dahil tayo ay impacted ng disaster and coincidentally po ako taga Ligao, Albay I grew up with typhoons and Mayon,” she said.

The nominee to the Vatican post is dedicating her new job to God and the Filipino people as the country’s representative to the Vatican.

Princesa finished with a degree in Foreign Service at the University of the Philippines.

She worked for 20 years at the Philippine Diplomatic Service before she became the Assistant Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Department’s Legislative Liaison Unit.

Duterte nominated her to the post last week. (PNA)