Lorenzo Ruiz


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

Early life

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.
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 because of his skillful penmanship. He became a member of the Cofradia del Santísimo Rosario. He married Rosario, a native, and they had two sons and a daughter. 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.

Martyrdom

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.
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. He died two days later on 29 September 1637, aged 42. This form of torture was known as tsurushi in Japanese or horca y hoya 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.
According to Latin missionary accounts sent back to Manila, Ruiz declared these words upon his death:

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. 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.

Miracle

His canonization was supported by a miracle in October 1983, when Cecilia Algeria Policarpio of Calinog, Iloilo, was cured of brain atrophy 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.

Places and things named after Lorenzo Ruiz

In the Philippines

Places

Churches

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.
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."
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.

In popular culture

Film and theatre

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