Recently, the entire St. Patrick's Filipino community came together to celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, who is the patron saint of the Philippines and the Filipino people. We had a procession around around the main circle, a Holy Mass in the main chapel, and a wonderful reception in Riordan Hall.
Ruiz was a missionary to Japan during the Tokugawa Shogunate in mid-17th century. At that time, the Japanese shogunate was persecuting Christians and arrested Ruiz and his fellow missionaries, tossing them into prison, and subjecting them to various forms of torture. One particularly horrible form of torture entailed hanging the person upside-down over a pit to force the person to renounce their Christian beliefs. Ruiz never recanted and eventually died. Instead tradition has it that Ruiz's last words were:
"I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for God; Had I a thousand lives, all these to Him shall I offer."
Below is a slideshow of our celebration for you to enjoy. We are extremely thankful for the tremendous support that our Filipino community has for our seminary. As Manila's Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said at the 20th anniversary of Lorenzo Ruiz's canonization, "Kahit saan nandoon ang mga Pilipino, ang katapatan sa Diyos ay dala-dala ng Pinoy (Wherever the Filipino may go, he carries his faith in God)." Of that fact, the world is truly blessed.
San Lorenzo Ruiz, Pray for us!
