# Mary Christine Tan

Amanda Limgenco Tan, RGS (November 30, 1930 – October 6, 2003), commonly known as Mary Christine Tan, was a Filipino missionary, nun, and activist, who was known to be one of the key figures who was against the human rights abuses during the Martial law era. She headed the Association of Major Religious Superiors of Women (AMRSP) from 1973 to 1976, a group of nuns who opposed the Martial Law dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, and helped Filipinos in poverty. She and eight other mins are known as the Bantayog sisters for resisting the regime of Ferdinand Marcos.

## Personal life

Mary Christine Tan was born as Amanda on November 30, 1930 to an upper-class Chinese Filipino family in Manila. Her parents were Bienvenido A. Tan, Sr., a judge of the RTC Manila Branch, and Salome Limgenco, a housewife. She is the fifth amongst her seven siblings, for whom they are: Consuelo, Bienvenido Jr. (who became a member of the Agrava Commission and later the Ambassador of the Philippines to Germany), Teresita, Caridad, Leticia, and Angeles. Tan spent her primary, secondary and tertiary education in St. Scholastica's College in Manila. She graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, before joining the Religious of the Good Shepherd (RGS), and was given the name by which she is most recognized today.
She spent the first 16 years of her religious life in the convent. It was during this time where she became the first Filipino head of the RGS's Philippine Province due to her driven motivation in serving the order. Her niece Didith Rodrigo, in her interview with Tan and who wrote the book A Life With The Poor, mentioned Tan saying that she does not feel any feelings other than joy whenever she helps people. As mentioned in her own words, she describes these years to be a bit placid:
   "[I couldn't] recall a single sorrow or problem or even joy that made any dent to the core of my being."
Despite her position in her congregation, she and other nuns lived in poverty as a way to take their vows seriously.

## Role in Martial Law

On the outset of Martial Law in the country.Tan became an outspoken political activist for the restoration of democratic rights. Tan and the rest of the AMSRP members asserted liberation and respect for human rights along with "a weekly compilation of news suppressed by the martial law government". She was one of the co-heads of the organization alongside priests Benigno Mayo and Lope Castillo. Her political views and statements were not approved by the Catholic Church. She was summoned to Rome to keep out of politics. and continued to fight for freedom. For 26 years she lived with other nuns in the Leveriza slum in Malate, Manila, where poverty, crime, and drugs were common.
In an interview with the New York Times in 1981, she said at the outset of Martial Law, her house was raided and an arrest warrant issued for her, and that Filipino women have become more progressive over history in their views of life.
In 1984, with five other RGS nuns, Tan founded the Alay Kapwa Christian Community to work with indigent communities in the provinces of Cavite, Quezon, and Cebu.

## After martial law and legacy

Following the aftermath of the People Power Revolution in 1986, Sister Christine was named a member of the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986 by President Corazon Aquino. The rationale behind her appointment was to continue her work in giving the poor a chance to participate in making the new Philippine Constitution. In the 1990s, she also became a famous critic of presidential administrations starting from Aquino up to Estrada. Another prominent event that put her into the spotlight was when she became a member of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office's Board of Directors in 1998. In her tenure, she raised awareness of the uneven allocation of the fund disbursements in the agency.
Her name, along with 305 others, was immortalized in the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. It was befitting for her to be part of the Wall because of her legacy in restoring Philippine democracy. Her RGS sisters attested that her work helped make the congregation well known in the pursuit of charity and religious service. President Aquino did mention that Tan was one of the few Filipinos who possessed values of integrity, patriotism, selflessness, and dedication.
When Tan was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2000, her sickness didn't inhibit her from doing what she loved. In her own words, she said:
   "There is an intensity within me to give all of my life to God in any way that evolved—be this with the poor or even through sickness. And in this pouring I shall strive to be poor and pure."
Tan died on October 6, 2003 (although it was disputed to be October 7) at the age of 72. Her autobiography, which was centered on her story with the RGS congregation and the journey from Eastern Spirituality to Social Justice, was released to the public by her brother Bienvenido Jr. four days after she died.