Short Cuts
Lorenzo Ruiz is the first Filipino saint. He is also the first Filipino martyred for the Christian
Faith. Lorenzo Ruiz was a layman, married, and had two sons and a
daughter. Born in Binondo, Manila, about 1600's, he was educated in the
school of the Dominicans
there. He served as an altar boy and later was a helper and
clerk-sacristan in the church of Binondo. He was a member of the
Confraternity of the Rosary. He made his living probably as a
calligrapher, one who renders documents in beautiful penmanship for
private or official use. To be sure, that work denoted an accomplished
and educated person, especially at a time
when many an illustrious personage were far from excelling in this art.
An adverse event made him leave the Philippines in 1636. When he was in
his late twenties or early thirties, he became involved or was accused
of being involved in a criminal case, the circumstances of which are far
from clear. Whether he was involved or not, one thing was clear, he was
afraid that, as a consequence of a trial or mistrial, he might be given
a death sentence. Upon landing in Japan
where Christians were being persecuted, he was arrested and imprisoned
together with his companions. He underwent inhuman tortures and
valiantly confessed his Christian Faith. Refusing to renounce his Faith, he told his executioner that he was ready to die for God
and give himself for many thousands of lives if he had them. On
September 27, 1637, he was hung from a gallows by his feet, his body
falling into a pit. After two days of agony, he died of bleeding and
suffocation. His body was cremated and the ashes thrown into the sea. He and fifteen companions, martyred in the same persecution, were beatified by Pope John Paul II in Manila on February 18, 1981 and elevated to full honors of the altar by canonization on October 18, 1987 in Rome. Their feast day is on September 28th.
