Lorenzo Ruiz

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For other uses, see Lorenzo Ruiz (disambiguation).
Archdiocese of Manila
.
Lorenzo Ruiz
Hanyu Pinyin
Lǐ Yuèlún
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingLei5 Ngok6leon4
Southern Min
Hokkien POJLí Ga̍k-lûn
Part of a series on
Persecutions
of the Catholic Church
Overview
Roman Empire
Neo-Persian Empire
Byzantine Empire
Muslim world
Saudi Arabia
Sudan
Egypt
Islamic terrorism
  • Genocide of Christians by the Islamic State
Japan
European wars of religion
France
Mexico
Spain
Netherlands
Titus Brandsma
Germany
China
Vietnam
Poland
Eastern Europe
India
El Salvador
Nigeria
Religious violence in Nigeria
Guatemala
Great Britain and Ireland
United States
Philippines
Turkey
  • Murder of Andrea Santoro
North Korea
Norway
Canada
Catholicism portal

Lorenzo Ruiz (

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

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.[1][2]

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.[3]
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

Okinawa on 10 June 1636, with the aid of the Dominican fathers.[1][2][4]

Martyrdom

Depiction of tsurushi.

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.[3]

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.")[3]

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.[1][2][4]

Veneration

Beatification process

The

Society of Jesus, rediscovered by Villaroel at the Jesuit Generalate archive in Rome, an unlikely location as Ruiz was of the Dominican order.[5] Lorenzo was beatified during Pope John Paul II's papal visit to the Philippines in 1981.[6][7][8] It was the first beatification ceremony to be held outside the Vatican
in history.

Canonisation

Lorenzo was

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.[9]

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.[10]

In popular culture

Film and theater

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

References

  1. ^ a b c d "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. ^ a b c d 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
  3. ^ a b c Foley O.F.M., Leonard. Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons and Feast, (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M), Franciscan Media
  4. ^ a b c Filipino Apostolate/Archdiocese of New York, Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz, ChapelofSanLorenzoRuiz.org Archived November 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, retrieved on: June 9, 2007
  5. ^ Carunungan, Celso Al. (June 26, 1987). "Sainthood at last!". Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc. p. 4. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  6. ^ azheepineda (January 2, 2010). "UST Archives director Fidel Villarroel, OP: Master key to UST's past". Skyrock. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  7. ^ "2-volume UST history charts evolution of higher education in the Philippines". inquirer.net. January 22, 2012.
  8. ^ "UST historian named Master of Theology". The Varsitarian. March 25, 2010.
  9. ^ The Pinoy Catholic (June 11, 2009). "The Pinoy Catholic: St. Lorenzo Ruiz". thepinoycatholic.blogspot.com.
  10. ^ "Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels". olacathedral.org. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2009.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Lorenzo Ruiz.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lorenzo Ruiz.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lorenzo_Ruiz&oldid=1218033517"