St. Lorenzo Ruiz

St. Lorenzo Ruiz, born around 1600 in Binondo, Manila, to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, was the first Filipino to be venerated by the Roman Catholic Church. He was educated by Dominican friars and served as an altar boy at the Binondo Church. Ruiz became a skilled calligrapher and joined the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. He married Rosario and had three children. In 1636, falsely accused of a crime, Ruiz sought refuge on a ship with Dominican priests bound for Japan, where Christianity was being persecuted by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Upon arrival, he was arrested and imprisoned for two years before being taken to Nagasaki for trial by torture. Despite the agonizing methods used, Ruiz refused to renounce his faith, declaring, "I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for God." He died on September 27, 1637. Ruiz was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1981 during a historic ceremony in the Philippines, the first outside the Vatican. His canonization occurred on October 18, 1987, following a miracle attributed to his intercession. Today, St. Lorenzo Ruiz is celebrated as the patron saint of the Philippines, Filipino youth, and overseas workers, with his feast day on September 28.