Coat of Arms and Motto of Most Rev. Ronald Lunas

Priest from the Diocese of Digos; 5th Bishop for the Diocese of Pagadian

The Cross-and-bar that surmounts the large, bold M, is part of the Miraculous Medal believed to be designed by the Virgin Mary herself and presented to St. Catherine Laboure to be promoted among the faithful. The cross symbolizes faith in Christ. The bar under it represents the world the Lord Jesus redeemed. The “M” stands for Mary; the interleaving of her initial and the cross shows her close involvement with Jesus and in our world in her role as Mother and Mediatrix. The design is considered by the bishop as synthesis of his faith and life, spirituality and mission. Thus, he assumes it in his coat of arms and considers Mary as the “designer” of his life and ministry.

The letter “M” reminds the bishop of his personal and family life. He was born to his family on November 27, the memorial of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, also known as the Lady of Grace. His grandmother, with whom he grew up, introduced him to the devotion to Mary. Indeed, the bishop’s life is full of Marian influences: the Religious of the Virgin Mary who formed him as a youth; his being an altar server at the Immaculate Conception Parish; as an oblate of the Benedictine Nuns of the Our Lady of Peace Monastery; his encounters with many religious and his collaboration with his past and present bishops who are manifestly Marian. Both the “M” and the Cross reflect the bishop’s ministerial life. As priest of Christ, the bishop considers himself God’s “laborer” (in the manner of San Isidro Labrador, the titular of the Diocese of Digos) – God’s “servant, the son of His handmaid” (cf. Ps 86:16; 116:16). He will continue to work for God and His People strengthened by the maternal care and intercession of the Immaculate. The cross reminds him of St. Francis Xavier and the PME Fathers in their zeal for the salvation of souls. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit Saint, is the Patron of Missions and of the seminaries where he was prepared for the priesthood and served as teacher for many years; the bishop also had his post graduate studies under the Jesuits. The PMEs were his parish priests whose missionary witness inspired him as a young seminarian.

The coat of arms of the bishop is in the form of the standard of the Birhen sa Barangay. This devotion to the Lady sustained the faith of the simple faithful. The bishop himself was introduced into this devotion in his childhood and witnessed how the little seed of faith has truly grown into a big tree today. The colors at the background remind the bishop of the Universal Church and his unity with the Supreme Pontiff (white and yellow of the Vatican flag) and his home Diocese of Digos (green for hope, red for charity, and blue for faith; as found in the Diocesan logo) which form him as person, believer and minister.

The bishop’s motto is EMMANUEL. This word is found in the annunciation to St. Joseph concerning the Savior to be born through Mary (cf. Mt. 1:23). On the one hand, this is his tribute to St. Joseph, the patron Saint of his last parish assignment and the first and the oldest of the parishes in the Diocese of Digos. On the other hand, the bishop understands his mission as both a proclamation to and a constant discovery of God’s presence in the people, especially in the last, the least, the lost, and the lonely.