Lorenzo Ruiz ( fil, Lorenzo Ruiz ng Maynila; zh, link=no, 李樂倫; es, link=no, Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila; November 28, 1594 – September 29, 1637), also called Saint Lorenzo of Manila, is a Filipino saint venerated in the Catholic Church. A

Chinese-Filipino Chinese Filipinos; tl, Tsinoy, / Tsinong Pilipino, ; Hokkien in the Philippines, Philippine Hokkien , Mandarin Chinese in the Philippines, Mandarin (also known as Filipino Chinese in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent, mo ...

, he became his country's protomartyr after his execution in Japan by the Tokugawa Shogunate during its persecution of

Japanese Christians Christianity in Japan is among the nation's minority religions in terms of individuals who state an explicit affiliation or faith. Between less than 1 percent and 1.5% of the population claims Christian belief or affiliation. Although formally ...

in the 17th century. Lorenzo Ruiz is the patron saint of, among others, the Philippines and the Filipino people.

Early life

Lorenzo Ruiz was born in

Binondo Binondo () is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the S ...

, Manila, on 28 November 1594, to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother who were both

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. His father taught him Chinese while his mother taught him Tagalog."Visit of Her Excellency President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

to Participate in the

2005 World Summit The 2005 World Summit, held between 14 and 16 September 2005, was a follow-up summit meeting to the United Nations' 2000 Millennium Summit, which had led to the Millennium Declaration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Representatives ( ...

– High Level

plenary session A plenary session or plenum is a session of a conference which all members of all parties are to attend. Such a session may include a broad range of content, from keynotes to panel discussions, and is not necessarily related to a specific sty ...

of the 60th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, New York, United States of America, 12–15 September 2005",

Press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

Kit, Office of the President, Government Mass Media Group, Bureau of Communications Services, Manila, September 2005.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: June 10, 2007 Lorenzo served as an

altar boy An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helps bring up the gifts, brings up the b ...

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 Penmanship is the technique of writing with the hand using a writing instrument. Today, this is most commonly done with a pen, or pencil, but throughout history has included many different implements. The various generic and formal histo ...

. 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.Foley O.F.M., Leonard. ''Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons and Feast'', (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M), Franciscan Media
/ref> The Ruiz family led a generally peaceful, religious and content life. In 1636, whilst 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 Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune * Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village * Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) ...

leper Lázaro of Kyoto. Lorenzo and his companions sailed for Okinawa on 10 June 1636, with the aid of the Dominican fathers.Filipino Apostolate/Archdiocese of New York, Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz, ChapelofSanLorenzoRuiz.org
, retrieved on: June 9, 2007

Martyrdom

The Tokugawa Shogunate was persecuting Christians, because they feared that was how the Spanish invaded the Philippines by 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 , also known simply as , was a Japanese torture technique used in the 17th century to coerce Christians (" Kirishitan") to recant their faith. The victim was hung head-down by the feet. Both Japanese and Western Christians are known to have bee ...

'' (釣殺し) in Japanese or ''horca y hoya'' ("

gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

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 Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, ...

and suffocation. His body was cremated, with the ashes thrown into the sea. According to Latin missionary accounts sent back to Manila, Lorenzo 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 Spanish historian

Fidel Villarroel Fidel Villarroel (18 March 1929 – 26 October 2016) was a Spanish historian, writer, filipinologist, biographer, political commentator, ''Master Theologian of the Dominican Order'', and member of the ''Order of Isabella the Catholic''.

. 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 Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

's papal visit to the Philippines in 1981. It was the first beatification ceremony to be held outside the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

in history. Lorenzo was

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

by the same pope in the Vatican City on October 18, 1987, among the

16 Martyrs of Japan The were Christians who were persecuted for their faith in Japan, mostly during the 17th century. Early Christianity in Japan Christian missionaries arrived with Francis Xavier and the Jesuits in the 1540s and briefly flourished, with over 10 ...

, making him the first Filipino saint.

Miracle

His canonization was supported by a miracle in October 1983, when Cecilia Alegria Policarpio of

Calinog, Iloilo Calinog, officially the Municipality of Calinog ( hil, Banwa sang Calinog, krj, Banwa kang Calinog, tgl, Bayan ng Calinog), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...

, was cured of brain atrophy (

hydrocephalus Hydrocephalus is a condition in which an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) occurs within the brain. This typically causes increased pressure inside the skull. Older people may have headaches, double vision, poor balance, urinary i ...

) 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.

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 The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels ( es, Catedral de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles), informally known as COLA or the Los Angeles Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in Los Angeles, California, United States. It opened in 2 ...

in Los Angeles, California. On September 28, 1997, the 10th anniversary of Lorenzo's canonization was celebrated. On September 28, 2007, the Catholic Church celebrated the 20th anniversary of Lorenzo's canonization. Then-

archbishop of Manila The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

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.") 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 In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

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 Raymundo Cipriano Pujante Cayabyab (born ; May 4, 1954), known professionally as Ryan Cayabyab, is a Filipino musician, composer and conductor. He was the Executive and Artistic Director for several years for the defunct San Miguel Foundatio ...

, 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 Christopher Strauss de León (born October 31, 1956) is a Philippine film actor and politician. He is recognized as the “''King of Philippine Drama''” has appeared in over 120 films since the early 1970s. Regarded as an "acting genius" and ...

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)

References

External links

Cause for Beatification
* ttp://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Altars/CrucifixionStPeter/CrucifixionStPeter.htm Mosaic in Saint Peter's Basilicabr>St. Lorenzo Ruiz in the Communion of Saints Tapestries

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".

''Lorenzo'', a musical on the life of Lorenzo Ruiz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Lorenzo 1594 births 1637 deaths 17th-century Christian saints 17th-century executions by Japan 17th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Burials at sea Canonizations by Pope John Paul II Deaths from bleeding Executed Filipino people Filipino people of Chinese descent Filipino Roman Catholic saints Filipino torture victims History of Christianity in Japan People from Binondo People of Spanish colonial Philippines