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There are not many documents on Lorenzo Ruiz. As his martyred body was burned by his Japanese persecutors in 1637, likewise, all the documents on his birth, baptism, marriage and other valuable data on his life were burned by the retreating Japanes soldiers in February 1945, during the liberation of Manila by the onrushing Americans.
Lorenzo Ruiz was a Filipino, although his father was Chinese. He was born in Binondo, Manila between 1600 and 1610. The fact that he lived in Binondo attested to his being a Christian - Binondo was bought on March 28, 1594 by Governor Luiz Perez Dasmarinas from one Don Antonio Varela, for a sum of $200, "to be used as permanent residence area of the Sangley converts." Likewise, Lorenzo's father would not have been permitted to marry a Tagala, which Lorenzo's mother was, if he did not embrace Christianity. Lorenzo's wife was a Filipina. Her influence and that of Lorenzo's mother on him must have been very strong because Lorenzo never considered himself a sangley, as the Chinese were called at that time. When he was interrogated by the bugyos (governors) in Nagasaki, he declared that he was a "Fiilpino from Manila."
According to the documents cited to proclaim him "Blessed," his parents were devout Catholics. He was christened "Lorenzo" after a martyr during the 3rd century persecution of Christians. His surname "Ruiz" was taken from the last name of his godfather.
One of the priests from whom Lorenzo served as clerk in the Church of San Gabriel, which was how the Binondo Church was then called, was Fr. Diego Rodriquez, procurator general of the Dominicans. In one of his short but reliable reports to his superiors in Spain, he mentioned the fact that Lorenzo "served as an errand boy during his early years in the the community house and church of a district in the extra-muros of Manila, called Binondo, which is under the spiritual care of the friars of the Order of Preachers." Since Lorenzo lived there together with the Dominican priests, he learned not only the Spanish language but also catechism.
Because of his early education, Lorenzo must have been one of those rare natives at that time who could be entrusted with many of the important lay chores in the church. During the trial in Nagasaki, one of the priests said that Lorenzo was a "great escribano." Although at that time, the word referred to a "notary," or one who drew up legal papers and administered oaths, this could not have been his job because the notary was only reserved for Spanish professionals. Lorenzo must have been one who transcribed documents from local dialects into Spanish, so that the authorities could understand them, or a copier who rendered official documents like diplomas and notices in handsome calligraphy.
In any case, Lorenzo was, for a native, extremely educated. He was a member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary of Our Lady which was organized by the Dominicans in the Philippines as soon as they arrived in 1587. This Confraternity began all the way back in the Middle Ages, when in 1254, Pope Alexander IV founded it as part of the Apostolic Order of Preachers. Its main purpose was the spreading of more profound devotion to our Blessed Mother through the rosary. As a member, Lorenzo has his name inscribed in the official registry of the Confraternity and he vowed to say the entire fifteen mysteries of the rosary each week.
No one knows when Lorenzo got married. The only direct record we have about his marriage was what he declared in Nagasaki during his trial there. He said, "I am married and have two sons and a daughter."
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 them 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 widespread persecution of Christians in Japan. All those who professed faith in God and served in missionaries were jailed and even put to death. Their lives were to be spared if they renounce their Christian faith. But thousands of those Christians chose death rather than renounce their belief in God. And Lorenzo Ruiz was among those who underwent excruciating forms of persecution.
One of the forms of punishment imposed on Christians was "hanging in the pit" on the hills of Nagasaki. The victim's feet were tied to a beam, his body hung upside down and his head occupying the mound of the pit. Lorenzo went through this agonizing punishment when he refused to renounce his faith.
When he was interrogated about his life as a Christian, he answered, "I am 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 thousand lives, I would still offer them to Him. This is the reason why I came here to Japan, to leave my native land as a Christian and die here 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 would 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. Although it had taken almost five years for Lorenzo Ruiz to be beatified, this is still one of the fastest processing of its kind in the twentieth century. More than that, the Pope broke established Vatican traditions and traveled to Asia to beatify him, an event that is totally unprecedented in the 2000-year history of the Roman Catholic Church. No one before Lorenzo had ever been beatified outside the Eternal City and in his own country. He was canonized and declared a "Saint" on October 18, 1987 in Rome. As such, he is now worthy of being venerated and honored on the church altar. His feastday falls on September 28.
