LORENZO RUIZ is a Filipino, although his father was a Chinese and his mother, a Filipina. He was born in Binondo, Manila between 1600 and 1610.
According to the documents cited to proclaim him "Blessed", his parents were devout Catholics. He was a christened "Lorenzo" after a martyr during the 3rd century persecution of Christians. His surname "Ruiz" was taken from the last name of his godfather.
In his younger years, Lorenzo served at the convent of Binondo church as a sacristan. Since he lived there together with Dominican priests, he learned from them not just Spanish but also catechism.
After several years, Lorenzo Ruiz earned the title of "escribano" or notary. He became an active member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, an organization devoted to the Blessed Virgin. This group was organized in the Philippines in 1587.
Lorenzo got married but the name of his wife was not mentioned in the documents. He confessed before he was convicted that he was a family man - having a wife with three kids, two boys and a girl.
In 1636, a grave crime was committed in Manila. Authorities conducted a manhunt for Lorenzo because they believed he knew something about it or was himself involved in it. When Lorenzo learned of some missionary priests leaving for Japan, he asked if he could be allowed to join them. And he was allowed aboard the ship bound for Japan, along with the Dominicans, safe from fear of being implicated in a crime.
At that time, there was a wide scale persecution of Christians in Japan. All those who professed faith in God and served as missionaries were jailed and even up to death. Their lives were even up to death. Their lives were to be spared if they would renounce their Christian faith. But thousands of those Christians chose death rather than renouncing their belief in God. And Lorenzo Ruiz was among those who underwent excruciating forms of persecution.
One of the forms of punishments imposed on Christians was "hanging in the pit" on the hills of Nagasaki. The victim’s feet were tied to a beam, his body hanged upside down and his head occupying the amount of the pit. Lorenzo Ruiz went through this agonizing punishment when he refused to renounce his faith.
When he was investigated as a Christian, he answered: "I'm a Christian and I will remain a Christian even to the point of death. Only to God will I offer my life. Even if I had a thousands lives, I would still offer them to him. This is the reason why I came here in Japan, to leave my native land as a Christian, offering my life to God alone.”
He was told that he would be put to death if he did not renounce his faith, but he stuck to his belief. He said he will never disown his identity as a Christian. It was on September 23, 1637 that he began to undergo "hanging in the pit".
Lorenzo Ruiz was proclaimed " Blessed" in February 1981 at Luneta, together with 16 other companions, in connection with Pope John Paul II's papal visit to the Philippines. He was canonized and declared a "Saint'on October 18, 1987 in Rome. As such, he is now worthy of being venerated and honored in the church altar. His feast day falls on September 28.
In 2005, the Lay Formation Center of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan was inaugurated on the feastday of San Lorenzo Ruiz, the Filipino protomartyr and layperson Saint by Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz and the clergy.
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