Laurentius Ruiz

Laurentius Ruiz (* between 1600 and 1610 in Binondo , Manila , † September 29, 1637 in Nagasaki , Japan ) is the first Filipino saint .

Life

As the child of a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, Laurentius Ruiz learned both Chinese and Tagalog . Both parents were Catholic .

Lawrence was an altar boy and sacristan in the church of the Dominicans - Convention of Binondo. After earning the title of "escribano" ( scribe , calligrapher ?), He became a member of the " Brotherhood of the Holy Rosary " and the Third Order of the Dominicans .

He was working as an employee of the Binondo Church when he was falsely charged in 1636 with murdering a Spaniard. Prior to this event, he had led a peaceful, contented and faithful life with his Filipino wife and three children.

After the indictment, he sought asylum on a ship on which, besides himself, three Dominicans (Saints Antonio Gonzalez , Guillermo Courtet and Miguel de Aozaraza ), a Japanese priest (Saint Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz ) and another lay person suffering from leprosy ( Saint Lazaro of Kyoto ).

The ship landed in Okinawa and the group was arrested for their Christian beliefs . They were tortured but did not renounce their belief and died martyrs .

Laurentius Ruiz was beatified on February 18, 1981 by John Paul II in Manila , who also canonized him on October 18, 1987 in Rome . Lawrence's beatification was the first to take place outside the Vatican . His feast day is September 28th. He is considered the patron saint of Filipino youth, the Filipinos of Chinese origin, Filipino workers working abroad, and the poor. He is especially venerated in the church of Binondo . It bears the title Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz in his honor and is one of the four Basilicae minores Manilas.

Individual evidence

↑ W. A Hinnebusch, Small History of the Dominican Order . Leipzig 2004, 234; G. New Yilik, Style Issues . Some reflections (not only) on the lay people in the order of preachers , in: W. Hoyer (ed.), God praise, bless, proclaim , Freiburg 2014, 216–249, 219.

personal data
SURNAME	Ruiz, Laurentius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Ruiz, Lorenzo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Filipino saint
DATE OF BIRTH	between 1600 and 1610
PLACE OF BIRTH	Binondo , Manila
DATE OF DEATH	September 29, 1637
Place of death	Nagasaki , Japan

[1] W. A Hinnebusch, Small History of the Dominican Order . Leipzig 2004, 234; G. New Yilik, Style Issues . Some reflections (not only) on the lay people in the order of preachers , in: W. Hoyer (ed.), God praise, bless, proclaim , Freiburg 2014, 216–249, 219.