Saint Lorenzo Ruiz (Filipino: San Lorenzo Ruiz ng Maynila, Spanish: San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila Latin: Laurentius Ruiz Manilensis ; ca. 1600 - 28 September 1637) is a Filipino saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church. A Chinese-Filipino, he became the country's protomartyr after his execution in Japan by the Tokugawa Shogunate during its persecution of Japanese Christians in the 17th century.
Saint Lorenzo is patron saint of, among others, the Philippines and the Filipino people.
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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 (calligrapher) because of his skillful penmanship. He became a member of the Cofradia 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, 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: Saint Antonio Gonzalez, Saint Guillermo Courtet, and Saint Miguel de Aozaraza; a Japanese priest, Saint Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz; and a lay leper Saint Lázaro of Kyoto. Ruiz and his companions left for Okinawa on 10 June 1636, with the aid of the Dominican fathers.
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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. He and his companions faced lots of torture.
On 27 September 1637, Ruiz and his companions were taken to the Nishizaka Hill, where they were tortured by being hung upside down over a pit. This form of torture was known as tsurushi (???) in Japanese or horca y hoya ("gallows and pit") in Spanish. The method was supposed to be extremely painful: though the victim was bound, one hand was always left free so that victims may signal their desire to recant, leading to their release. Ruiz refused to renounce Christianity and died from 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:
Path to sainthood
Cause of beatification and canonization
The Positio Super Introductione Causae or the cause of beatification of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz was written by respected historian, Fr. Fidel Villarroel, O.P. 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. San Lorenzo 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 based on a miracle that took place in 1983, when Cecilia Alegria Policarpio, a two-year-old girl suffering from brain atrophy (hydrocephalus), was cured after her family and supporters prayed to Ruiz for his intercession. She was diagnosed with the condition shortly after birth and was treated at Magsaysay Medical Center.
Places and things named after Lorenzo Ruiz
In the Philippines
Places
- San Lorenzo Ruiz, Camarines Norte
- Barangay San Lorenzo, Makati City
- Barangay San Lorenzo, Masinloc, Zambales
- Barangay San Lorenzo Ruiz I and II, Dasmariñas City, Cavite
Churches
- Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz, Binondo, Manila
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish, Bacoor City, Cavite
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish, Dau Mabalacat City, Pampanga
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Diocesan Church, Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish, Taytay, Rizal
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel, Imnajbu, Batanes
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel, Balanga City, Bataan
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Church, Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish, Tandang Sora, Quezon City
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel, Laurel, Batangas
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish, Tisa, Cebu City
- San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila Parish Church, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan
- Saint Lorenzo Ruiz Shrine Bangued, Abra
- San Lorenzo Ruiz and Companion Martyrs Parish, Kaunlaran Village, Navotas City
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish - Talomo, Davao City
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish - Dagatan, Taysan, Batangas
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish - Masipit, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Church, Gusa, Cagayan De Oro City, Misamis Occidental
Educational institutions
- Lorenzo Ruiz Academy, Binondo, Manila
- Colegio de San Lorenzo, a Catholic college in Quezon City, founded in 1988
- Escuela de San Lorenzo Ruiz - Parañaque, Sucat, Parañaque City, founded in 1988
- Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila School, Cainta, Rizal, founded in 1990
- San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila School, Marikina City, founded in 2003
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Montessori, Inc., Bulakan, Bulacan
- Colegio San Lorenzo Ruiz de Pilipinas, Paniqui, Tarlac
- San Lorenzo School, a non-sectarian school in San Pedro City, Laguna
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Parochial School, Navotas City
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Academy of Polomolok
- Colegio de San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila Inc, Of Catarman, Northern Samar
Other
- Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz, the present name of the plaza fronting Binondo Church, Manila
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Diocesan Academy Inc. - San Bartolome, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija founded in 1989
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Hospital - Naic, Cavite (formerly "The First Filipino Saint Hospital")
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Women's Hospital - medical clinic located at Malabon, Philippines
Elsewhere
Other Churches
- St. Lorenzo Ruiz Catholic Church, a Catholic church in Walnut, California, United States of America
- Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz in New York City, United States of America, opened in 2005
- Saint Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel, Bjørnevatn, Vatsø, Norway
- Saint Lorenzo Ruiz Church (Parish), Yomitan, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Educational institutions
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Elementary School, a Catholic school in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Elementary School, a Catholic school in Markham, Ontario, Canada
- St Lorenzo Ruiz Elementary School, a Catholic school in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Other
- San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila Community Center in Sugar Land, Texas, United States of America
- San Lorenzo Ruiz Bridge, Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines
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 in Los Angeles, California.
On 28 September 2007, the Catholic Church celebrated the 20th anniversary of Ruiz'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." ("Wheresoever Filipinos are, the Pinoy brings fidelity to God.")
In popular culture
Film and theatre
- Ang Buhay ni Lorenzo Ruiz, a 1970 Philippine religious biographical film
- Lorenzo Ruiz... The Saint... A Filipino!, a 1988 Philippine 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.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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