Lorenzo Ruiz

Lorenzo Ruiz (Filipino: Lorenzo Ruiz ng Maynila; Spanish: Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila; Latin: Laurentius Ruiz Manilensis; 28 November 1594 – 29 September 1637) also called as Saint Lawrance of Manila is a Filipino saint venerated in the Catholic Church. A Chinese-Filipino, he became his country's protomartyr after his execution in Japan by the Tokugawa Shogunate during its persecution of Japanese Christians in the 17th century.

For the municipality in the Philippines, see San Lorenzo Ruiz, Camarines Norte. For the school in the Philippines, see Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila School.
Saint

Lorenzo Ruiz
First Saint and Protomartyr of the Philippines
Born28 November 1594
Binondo, Manila
Captaincy General of the Philippines
Died29 September 1637(1637-09-29) (aged 42)
Nagasaki, Hizen Province, Tokugawa Shogunate
Venerated inCatholic Church
BeatifiedFebruary 18, 1981, Manila, Philippines by Pope John Paul II
CanonizedOctober 18, 1987, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II
Major shrineBinondo Church, Binondo, Manila, Philippines
Feast28 September
AttributesRosary in clasped hands, gallows and pit, Barong Tagalog or camisa de chino and black trousers, cross, palm of martyrdom
PatronageThe Philippines, Filipinos, Overseas Filipino Workers and migrant workers, the poor, separated families, Filipino youth, Chinese-Filipinos, Filipino Altar servers, Tagalogs, Archdiocese of Manila.

Ruiz is the patron saint of, among others, the Philippines and the Filipino people.

Early life
Binondo Church, the main shrine of St Lorenzo Ruiz

Lorenzo Ruiz was born in Binondo, Manila, to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother who were both Catholic. His father taught him Chinese while his mother taught him Tagalog.[1][2]

Ruiz served as an altar boy at the Binondo Church. After being educated by the Dominican friars for a few years, Ruiz earned the title of escribano (calligrapher) because of his skillful penmanship. He became a member of the Cofradia del Santísimo Rosario (Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary). He married Rosario, a native, and they had two sons and a daughter.[3] The Ruiz family led a generally peaceful, religious and content life.

In 1636, whilst working as a clerk for the Binondo Church, Ruiz was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard. Ruiz sought asylum on board a ship with three Dominican priests: Antonio Gonzalez, Guillermo Courtet, and Miguel de Aozaraza; a Japanese priest, Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz; and a lay leper Lázaro of Kyoto. Ruiz and his companions sailed for Okinawa on 10 June 1636, with the aid of the Dominican fathers.[1][2][4]

Martyrdom
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, with a red sash indicating his status as a martyr, in the convento of St James the Apostle Parish, Plaridel, Bulacan.

The Tokugawa Shogunate was persecuting Christians by the time Ruiz had arrived in Japan. The missionaries were arrested and thrown into prison, and after two years, they were transferred to Nagasaki to face trial by torture. The group endured many and various cruel methods of torture.[3]

On 27 September 1637, Ruiz and his companions were taken to Nishizaka Hill, where they were tortured by being hung upside-down over a pit. This form of torture was known as tsurushi (釣殺し) in Japanese or horca y hoya ("gallows and pit") in Spanish. The method, alleged to have been extremely painful, had the victim bound; one hand was always left free so that the individual may signal their desire to recant, leading to their release. Despite his suffering, Ruiz refused to renounce Christianity and died from eventual blood loss and suffocation. His body was cremated, with the ashes thrown into the sea.[1][2][4]

According to Latin missionary accounts sent back to Manila, Ruiz declared these words upon his death:

Ego Catholicus sum et animo prompto paratoque pro Deo mortem obibo.
 Si mille vitas haberem, cunctas ei offerrem.
(I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for God;
Had I a thousand lives, all these to Him shall I offer.)[3]

Veneration

Cause of beatification and canonization

The Positio Super Introductione Causae or the cause of beatification of Lorenzo Ruiz was written by the respected historian, Fidel Villarroel. Ruiz was beatified during Pope John Paul II's papal visit to the Philippines.[5][6][7] It was the first beatification ceremony to be held outside the Vatican in history. Ruiz was canonized by the same pope in the Vatican City on 18 October 1987, making him the first Filipino saint.[1][2][4]

Miracle

His canonization was supported by a miracle in October 1983, when Cecilia Algeria Policarpio of Calinog, Iloilo, was cured of brain atrophy (hydrocephalus) at the age of two, after her family and supporters prayed to Ruiz for his intercession. She was diagnosed with the condition shortly after birth and was treated at University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center.[8]

Places and things named after Lorenzo Ruiz

In the Philippines

Places

Churches

Educational institutions

Other
  • Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz, the present name of the plaza fronting Binondo Church, Manila
  • San Lorenzo Ruiz Diocesan Academy Inc. - San Bartolome, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija founded in 1989
  • San Lorenzo Ruiz Hospital – Naic, Cavite (formerly "The First Filipino Saint Hospital")
  • San Lorenzo Ruiz Women's Hospital – medical clinic located at Malabon, Philippines
  • San Lorenzo Ruiz Bridge, Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

Elsewhere

Churches
  • St. Lorenzo Ruiz Catholic Church, a Catholic church in Walnut, California, United States of America[9]
  • Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz in New York City, United States of America, opened in 2005
  • Saint Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel, Bjørnevatn, Vatsø, Norway
  • Saint Lorenzo Ruiz Church (Parish), Yomitan, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan

Educational institutions

Other
  • San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila Community Center in Sugar Land, Texas, United States of America

Other tributes

Lorenzo Ruiz is included in American painter John Nava's Communion of Saints Tapestries, a depiction of 135 saints and beati which hangs inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California.[10]

On 28 September 1997, St. Lorenzo Ruiz celebrated his 10th year anniversary as a canonization as a saint.

On 28 September 2007, the Catholic Church celebrated the 20th anniversary of Lorenzo's canonisation. Then-archbishop of Manila Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales said: "Kahit saan nandoon ang mga Pilipino, ang katapatan sa Diyos ay dala-dala ng Pinoy." ("Wheresoever Filipinos are, the Pinoy brings fidelity to God.")[11]

A mosaic of St. Lorenzo is found in the Trinity Dome of Mary's National Shrine in Washington DC.

On 28 September 2017, St. Lorenzo Ruiz celebrated his 30th anniversary of his canonization by Archbishop of Manila.

Film and theatre
  • Ang Buhay ni Lorenzo Ruiz, a 1970 Philippine religious biographical film
  • Lorenzo Ruiz... The Saint... A Filipino!, a 1988 Philippine film[12]
  • Lorenzo, a musical staged in September 2013, by Green Wings Entertainment, with music by Ryan Cayabyab, book and lyrics by Juan Ekis and Paul Dumol, with the collaboration of Joem Antonio, direction by Nonon Padilla, and production by Christopher de Leon.

Books

See also

References
  1. "Visit of Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to Participate in the 2005 World Summit – High Level plenary session of the 60th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, New York, United States of America, 12–15 September 2005", Press Kit, Office of the President, Government Mass Media Group, Bureau of Communications Services, Manila, September, 2005.
  2. Religion-Cults.com Dominguez, J, M.D., September 29: Saints of the Day, Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and Companions, 1600–1637, Religion-Cults.com, retrieved on: 10 June 2007
  3. Foley O.F.M., Leonard. Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons and Feast, (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M), Franciscan Media
  4. Filipino Apostolate/Archdiocese of New York, Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz, ChapelofSanLorenzoRuiz.org Archived 2008-11-20 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved on: 9 June 2007
  5. azheepineda. "UST Archives director Fr. Fidel Villarroel, O.P. : Master key to UST's past". Skyrock.
  6. "2-volume UST history charts evolution of higher education in the Philippines". inquirer.net.
  7. "UST historian named Master of Theology". The Varsitarian.
  8. The Pinoy Catholic. "The Pinoy Catholic: St. Lorenzo Ruiz". thepinoycatholic.blogspot.com.
  9. "ParishWorld.org". stlorenzo.org. Archived from the original on 2005-08-31. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  10. "Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels". olacathedral.org.
  11. "Roxas may slide down for Poe, says LP" (TXT). Newsinfo.inquirer.net. Retrieved 2015-05-17.
  12. "Mat Ranillo III, the Pork Barrel Scam and His Religious Movies". Pinoy Pop Culture Blog. February 15, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
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