Lorenzo Ruiz

For other uses, see Lorenzo Ruiz (disambiguation).

Saint Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila TOSD
Ruiz on a stained-glass window in Cubao Cathedral
Martyr
Born	(1594-11-28)November 28, 1594 Binondo, Manila Captaincy General of the Philippines, Spanish Empire
Died	September 29, 1637(1637-09-29) (aged 42) Nagasaki, Hizen Province, Tokugawa Shogunate
Cause of death	Tsurushi
Venerated in	Catholic Church
Beatified	February 18, 1981, Manila, Philippines by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	October 18, 1987, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II
Major shrine	Binondo Church, Binondo, Manila, Philippines
Feast	September 28
Attributes	Rosary in clasped hands, gallows and pit, barong tagalog or camisa de chino and black trousers, cross, palm of martyrdom
Patronage	The Philippines, Filipinos, Overseas Filipino Workers and migrant workers, immigrants, the poor, separated families, Filipino youth, Chinese-Filipinos, Filipino Altar servers, Tagalogs, Archdiocese of Manila.

Lorenzo Ruiz
Traditional Chinese	李樂倫
Simplified Chinese	李乐伦
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Yuèlún Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Lei5 Ngok6leon4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Lí Ga̍k-lûn

Lorenzo Ruiz (Filipino: Lorenzo Ruiz ng Maynila; Chinese: 李樂倫; Spanish: Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila; November 28, 1594 – September 29, 1637), also called Saint Lorenzo of Manila, was a Filipino Catholic layman and a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. 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. Lorenzo Ruiz is the patron saint of, among others, the Philippines and the Filipino people.

Early life

Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz and Binondo Church, the main shrine of San Lorenzo Ruiz

Lorenzo Ruiz was born in Binondo, Manila, on 28 November 1594, to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother who were both Catholic. His father taught him Chinese while his mother taught him Tagalog.

Lorenzo served as an altar boy at the Binondo Church. After being educated by the Dominican friars for a few years, Lorenzo earned the title of escribano (scrivener) because of his skillful penmanship. He became a member of the Cofradía del Santísimo Rosario (Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary). 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, while working as a clerk for the Binondo Church, Lorenzo was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard. Lorenzo 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. Lorenzo and his companions sailed for Okinawa on 10 June 1636, with the aid of the Dominican fathers.

Martyrdom

Depiction of tsurushi.

The Tokugawa Shogunate was persecuting Christians because they feared that the Spanish invaded the Philippines through using religion by the time Lorenzo 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, Lorenzo 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 ("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, Lorenzo refused to renounce Christianity and died from eventual blood loss and suffocation. His last words were: 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.")

After his death his body was cremated. His ashes were then thrown into the sea of Nagasaki to prevent other Christians from gathering his sacred relics.

Veneration

Beatification process

The positio for the cause of beatification of Lorenzo Ruiz was written by Spanish historian Fidel Villarroel. The central document found to exhibit Ruiz's martyrdom was an eyewitness account by two Japanese ex-priests from the Society of Jesus, rediscovered by Villaroel at the Jesuit Generalate archive in Rome, an unlikely location as Ruiz was of the Dominican order. Lorenzo was beatified during Pope John Paul II's papal visit to the Philippines in 1981. It was the first ever beatification ceremony to be held outside the Vatican.

A statue of San Lorenzo Ruiz enthroned at the Manila Cathedral

Canonisation

Lorenzo was canonised by Pope John Paul II on October 18, 1987, among the 16 Martyrs of Japan, making him the first Filipino saint. Ruiz' canonization was supported by a miracle in October 1983, when Cecilia Alegria Policarpio of Calinog, Iloilo, was cured of brain atrophy (hydrocephalus) at the age of two, after her family and supporters prayed to Lorenzo 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.

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

On September 28, 2017, the 30th anniversary of Lorenzo's canonization was celebrated in the Archdiocese of Manila.

Other tributes

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

In popular culture

Film and theater

• Ang Buhay ni Lorenzo Ruiz, a 1970 Filipino religious biographical film
• Lorenzo Ruiz: The Saint... A Filipino, a 1988 Filipino film
• 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

• Carunungan, Celso Al. To Die a Thousand Deaths: A Novel on the Life and Times of Lorenzo Ruiz, Social Studies Publications, Metro Manila, Philippines, 1980.
• Delgado, Antonio C. The Making of The First Filipino Saint, The Ala-Ala Foundation, 1982.
• Villaroel, Fidel "Lorenzo de Manila: The Protomartyr of the Philippines and His Companions", UST Publishing, Inc., 1988
• Dela Peña, Rev. Ordanico "The Birth of the Catholic Philippines in Asia: Includes the Lives of San Lorenzo Ruiz and Blessed Pedro Calungsod", Xlibris Corp., 2000
• Diaz, Emo "On The Road With San Lorenzo", UST Publishing, Inc., 2005
• Tan, Susan "The Martyrdom Of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, Pauline Publishing & Media, 2007
• Tan, Susan "Martyred: The Story Of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz", Pauline Publishing & Media, 2014

Television

• Canonization of Blessed Lorenzo Ruiz TV Special Coverage (PTV 4, 1987)
• Saint Lorenzo Ruiz: The Life, A 1st Filipino Saint Documentary Special (PTV 4, 1987)

Educational institutions

• Escuela De San Lorenzo Ruiz Academy, Greenheights Subdivision, Brgy. San Antonio, Sucat, Paranaque City
• Lorenzo Ruiz Academy, 1606 Ongpin St, Binondo, Manila City
• Lorenzo Ruiz De Manila School, Felix Ave., Vista Verde Executive Village Phase 1, Cainta, Rizal
• San Lorenzo Ruiz Center Of Studies And Schools, Villa de San Lorenzo, St. Dominic Corinthian, Dolores, San Fernando, Pampanga
• San Lorenzo Ruiz De Manila School, Buenmar Ave., Greenland Phase 1, Nangka, Marikina City
• San Lorenzo Ruiz Academy, Valencia Site, Poblacion, Polomolok, South Cotabato
• St. Lorenzo Ruiz Academy Of Tagum, Inc., Apokon Road, Tagum City, Davao Del Norte

See also

• Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
• Jerónima de la Asunción
• Kakure Kirishitan
• Martha de San Bernardo, the first Filipino nun
• Martyrs of Japan
• Pedro Calungsod, the second Filipino saint

External links

• Cause for Beatification
• Homily of John Paul II for the beatification of Lorenzo Ruiz
• Mosaic in Saint Peter's Basilica
• St. Lorenzo Ruiz in the Communion of Saints Tapestries Archived February 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
• St. Lorenzo Ruiz Prayer in times of adversity. Translated into Spanish by José Tlatelpas, traditional version in English and Tagalog. Published in the Canadian Hispanic webzine "La Guirnalda Polar". Archived September 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
• Lorenzo, a musical on the life of Lorenzo Ruiz