Lorenzo Ruiz
Encyclopedia
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz also known as San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, is the first Filipino
saint
(protomartyr) venerated in the Roman Catholic Church
. He was martyred during persecution of Japanese Christians under the Tokugawa Shogunate
in the 17th century for declining to leave Japan
and refusal to renounce his Roman Catholic beliefs.
Lorenzo Ruiz was born in Binondo, Manila
, of a Chinese
father and a Tagalog mother. His father taught him Chinese
while his mother taught him Tagalog
. Both of his parents were Roman Catholics.
Ruiz served as an altar boy at the convent of 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 Santissimo Rosario (Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary
). He married and had two sons and a daughter with Rosario, a native. Life for them was generally peaceful, religious and full of contentment.
In 1636, while working as a clerk at the Binondo Church, Ruiz was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard. Due to the allegation, Ruiz sought asylum on board a ship with three Dominican priests: Saint Antonio Gonzalez
; Saint Guillermo Courtet; Saint Miguel de Aozaraza, a Japan
ese priest; Saint Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz; and a layman
named Saint Lazaro of Kyoto, a leper. Ruiz and his companions left for Okinawa, Japan on June 10, 1636, with the aid of the Dominican fathers and Fr. Giovanni Yago.
The Tokugawa shogunate
was persecuting Christians
by the time Ruiz had arrived in Japan. The missionaries were arrested and thrown into prison. After two years, they were transferred to Nagasaki
to face trial by torture.
On September 27, 1637, Ruiz and his companions were taken to the Nishizaka Hill, where they were tortured by being hung upside down a pit. This form of torture was known as tsurushi
(釣殺し) in Japanese
or horca y hoya in Spanish
. The method was supposed to be extremely painful. Though the victim is bound, one hand is always left free so that victims may be able to signal a recantation of beliefs. In such cases, they would be freed. Ruiz refused to renounce Christianity and died from blood loss and suffocation. His body was cremated and his ashes were thrown into the sea.
Before he died he reputedly said:
(English
: I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly accept death for the Lord; if I have a thousand lives, all of them I will offer to Him.)
Lorenzo Ruiz was beatified in Manila on February 18, 1981, by Pope John Paul II
during his papal visit to Manila, the first beatification ceremony held outside the Vatican
. San Lorenzo Ruiz was canonized by Pope John Paul II in the Vatican City
, Rome
, on October 18, 1987, making him the first Filipino saint and the first Filipino martyr.
in Los Angeles
.
Cardinal
Archbishop
Gaudencio Rosales said: “Kahit saan nandoon ang mga Pilipino, ang katapatan sa Diyos ay dala-dala ng Pinoy (Wherever the Filipinos may be, they bring with them their loyalty to God).”
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
(protomartyr) venerated in the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He was martyred during persecution of Japanese Christians under the Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
in the 17th century for declining to leave Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and refusal to renounce his Roman Catholic beliefs.
Early life
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, of a Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
father and a Tagalog mother. His father taught him Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
while his mother taught him Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
. Both of his parents were Roman Catholics.
Ruiz served as an altar boy at the convent of Binondo church
Binondo church
Binondo Church, also known as Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz , is located in the District of Binondo, Manila, in the Philippines. This church was founded by Dominican priests in 1596 to serve their Chinese converts to Christianity. The original building was destroyed in 1762 by British...
. After being educated by the Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
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 Santissimo Rosario (Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary
Confraternity of the Rosary
The Confraternity of the Holy Rosary is a Roman Catholic Archconfraternity or spiritual association, under the care and guidance of the Dominicans, the members of which strive to pray the entire Holy Rosary weekly.-History:...
). He married and had two sons and a daughter with Rosario, a native. Life for them was generally peaceful, religious and full of contentment.
In 1636, while working as a clerk at the Binondo Church, Ruiz was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard. Due to the allegation, Ruiz sought asylum on board a ship with three Dominican priests: Saint Antonio Gonzalez
Antonio Gonzalez
*For the American political activist see Antonio Gonzalez .Antonio Gonzalez was a Roman Catholic martyr and saint....
; Saint Guillermo Courtet; Saint Miguel de Aozaraza, a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese priest; Saint Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz; and a layman
Layman
A layperson or layman is a person who is not an expert in a given field of knowledge. The term originally meant a member of the laity, i.e. a non-clergymen, but over the centuries shifted in definition....
named Saint Lazaro of Kyoto, a leper. Ruiz and his companions left for Okinawa, Japan on June 10, 1636, with the aid of the Dominican fathers and Fr. Giovanni Yago.
Martyrdom
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
was persecuting Christians
Martyrs of Japan
The refers to a group of Christians who were executed by crucifixion on February 5, 1597 at Nagasaki. Their martyrdom is especially significant in the history of Roman Catholicism in Japan....
by the time Ruiz had arrived in Japan. The missionaries were arrested and thrown into prison. After two years, they were transferred to Nagasaki
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
to face trial by torture.
On September 27, 1637, Ruiz and his companions were taken to the Nishizaka Hill, where they were tortured by being hung upside down a pit. This form of torture was known as tsurushi
Tsurushi
Tsurushi , or "reverse hanging", was a Japanese torture technique used in the 17th century in order to have Christians recant their faith. Both Japanese and Western Christians are known to have been submitted to the torture...
(釣殺し) in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
or horca y hoya in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. The method was supposed to be extremely painful. Though the victim is bound, one hand is always left free so that victims may be able to signal a recantation of beliefs. In such cases, they would be freed. Ruiz refused to renounce Christianity and died from blood loss and suffocation. His body was cremated and his ashes were thrown into the sea.
Before he died he reputedly said:
(English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly accept death for the Lord; if I have a thousand lives, all of them I will offer to Him.)
Path to sainthood
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
during his papal visit to Manila, the first beatification ceremony held outside the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
. San Lorenzo Ruiz was canonized by Pope John Paul II in the Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, on October 18, 1987, making him the first Filipino saint and the first Filipino martyr.
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
St. Lorenzo Ruiz's image is included among the images by John Nava of 135 saints and blessed from around the world in the Communion of Saints Tapestries which hangs inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the AngelsCathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, also called "COLA" and the Los Angeles Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in Los Angeles, California, United States...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
20th anniversary
On September 28, 2007, the Catholic Church celebrated the 20th anniversary of Ruiz’ canonization in 1987. ManilaManila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Gaudencio Rosales said: “Kahit saan nandoon ang mga Pilipino, ang katapatan sa Diyos ay dala-dala ng Pinoy (Wherever the Filipinos may be, they bring with them their loyalty to God).”
See also
- Kakure KirishitanKakure Kirishitanis a modern term for a member of the Japanese Catholic Church that went underground after the Shimabara Rebellion in the 1630s.-History:Kakure Kirishitans are called the "hidden" Christians because they continued to practice Christianity in secret. They worshipped in secret rooms in private homes...
- Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz, New York
- Martyrs of JapanMartyrs of JapanThe refers to a group of Christians who were executed by crucifixion on February 5, 1597 at Nagasaki. Their martyrdom is especially significant in the history of Roman Catholicism in Japan....
- Jeronima de la AsuncionJerónima de la AsunciónThe Servant of God Mother Jeronima of the Assumption, P.C.C. was the foundress of the first Catholic monastery in Manila and the Far East. Mother Jermonia's monastery became known as the Monastery of Saint Clare in Intramuros, Philippines...
- Pontificio Collegio FilippinoPontificio Collegio FilippinoPontificio Collegio Filippino is the college of Filipino diocesan priests studying at pontifical universities in Rome, Italy. It was formally established as an institution with pontifical rights by Pope Blessed John XXIII on June 29, 1961 through the Papal Bull Sancta Mater Ecclesia...
- Three Fertility Saints of Obando, Bulacan, PhilippinesObando Fertility RitesThe Obando Fertility Rites is a Filipino dance ritual. Every year during the month of May, to the tune of musical instruments made out of bamboo materials, the men, women and children of Obando, Bulacan, Philippines wear traditional dance costumes to dance on the streets followed by the images of...
- Martha de San BernardoMartha de San BernardoMartha de San Bernardo was the first Filipina Catholic nun in both Philippine and world history.-Biography:De San Bernardo belonged to an affluent and influential family in Pampanga, and was a ladina, a Spanish-speaking Filipina that had no Spanish lineage...
, the first Filipino nun - Antonio C. DelgadoAntonio C. DelgadoAntonio C. Delgado of the Philippines served as Philippine ambassador to the Vatican from 1975 to 1985, as well as chairman of the World Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement from 1971 to 1973....
, Philippine Ambassador to The Vatican - Colegio de San LorenzoColegio de San LorenzoColegio de San Lorenzo is a private Catholic educational institution in the Philippines located in Congressional Avenue, Barangay Bahay Toro, Quezon City and in Macabebe, Pampanga, opened in 1988. Students of Colegio de San Lorenzo are also known as "Ruizians"-History:The school's founders, Cirilo...
Books about San Lorenzo Ruiz
- 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, 198 pages and Amazon.co.uk
- Delgado, Antonio C. The Making of The First Filipino Saint, The Ala-Ala Foundation, 1982
External links
- Saint Lorenzo Parish Community, Walnut, California, StLorenzo.org
- Cause for Beatification
- Mosaic in Saint Peter's Basilica
- 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".