Rosario “Charito” Melchor is named after Our Lady’s Holy Rosary. She vividly recalls that each day, her grandmother Doña Maria de Leon Mendoza would gather her children and grandchildren to pray the rosary on their knees before the statue of the Birheng Maria at 6 pm daily. Her mother, also named Maria Rosario, would pray four rosaries daily for each of her four children.
Charito was married to Alejandro “Alex” Melchor, Jr., a trusted technocrat and cabinet official, who served God and the country under nine Philippine presidents. Alex’s father was a distinguished scientist, engineer, and professor after whom Melchor Hall at the University of the Philippines was named. He led the committee that established the Philippine Military Academy, and its main Academic Building was also named Melchor Hall in his honor. Charito came from the equally prominent Mendoza family of Sta. Maria, Bulacan. Her father, Dr. Lauro Panganiban, served for 13 years as the Dean of the College of Medicine of Far Eastern University (FEU) and is widely considered one of the fathers of medical education in the Philippines. He is prominently featured in the book “Who’s who in the World”.
Aside from raising their four children, Charito was actively involved in various socio-economic, civic, charitable, and religious projects which she is called upon to do as a wife and helpmate of her husband in his government positions. She readily accepted chairmanships to raise funds for the Philippine Cancer Society and Philippine National Red Cross, among others. As her husband is making a big difference in his field with his dedicated service and leadership, Charito was out helping and winning souls with her prayers and charitable works. She was appointed by His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin as the President, and Alex as the Chairman, of the “World Apostolate of Fatima” in the Archdiocese of Manila.
From that time on, they spread the Word, especially in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). They organized many Marian congresses, rosary rallies, and the First Saturday Devotion as requested by Our Lady at Fatima. On October 13 of each year, they organized a Rosary Congress where all the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines take turns in leading a decade of the rosary. They also invited members of different organizations to participate in this event. The activity starts with a procession of Our Lady of Fatima from the grandstand up to the St. Ignatius Cathedral in Camp Aguinaldo. Because of her numerous contributions to the faith, Charito became a Papal Awardee and a recipient of the “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” Gold medal for Excellence.
The love for Our Lady is very much embedded in the life of Charito. In her book entitled ‘Divine Conspiracy,’ she talked about H.E. Cardinal Sin appointing Alex to be the Ambassador to the Vatican, but President Cory changed it, and appointed him to be the Philippine Ambassador to Russia. In the book, she made an account of her first-hand experience and participation in the events leading to the spiritual conversion of Russia. She lovingly recognized the hand of God and Mary in this historic event.
At present, Charito is an active member of the Marian Cenacle and still doing her charitable works. She gave a portion of her property to a nun named Sr. Philomena for the caring of children and to Gawad Kalinga for the housing of some poor families. She is also supporting 79 scholars in a school in Baras, Rizal and is a benefactor of several seminarians in Don Bosco School of Theology.
Charito believes that if you support the education of a seminarian, you not only help the society but also the country to where he will be assigned, thus, propagating the faith anywhere he goes.
Charito is one person truly worthy of emulation. Even if she is turning 94 this June 2022, you may still catch her attending the online masses and classes offered by the Don Bosco School of Theology (DBST). Her faith is so deep and her dedication to serve is truly admirable; one cannot help but be in awe of her! We are so honored and proud that she is part of the Governance Board who will help DBST in fulfilling its mission of helping people in their faith journey. She definitely may be considered a living rosary.
