Lorenzo was born in the late 16th century in Manila. Since his mother was Filipino and his father of Chinese descent, he grew up speaking both Chinese and Tagalog, a language spoken by a segment of the Filipino population.

He was educated by Dominicans and became an altar boy at an early age. Under Dominican guidance, he joined the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary, a spiritual association whose goal was to pray the rosary weekly. He also became an expert calligrapher, which is how he earned his living. He eventually married and had three children.

In many ways, Lorenzo offers us a powerful example of holiness lived amid ordinary family life.

Then, in 1636, Lorenzo was falsely accused of killing a man and was forced to flee the authorities. The Dominican friars believed in his innocence and allowed him to join their missionaries on a ship bound for Japan. Unfortunately at that time, Japan was undergoing a severe persecution of Christians and so Lorenzo and the Dominicans were arrested immediately upon their arrival. He and his companions were imprisoned and tortured for two years.

He died at the age of 42 after he refused to renounce his beliefs. In 1981, in the first-ever beatification outside of the Vatican, St. John Paul II addressed the crowd gathered at Luneta Park in Manila, Philippines, with these words: “This is what Lorenzo Ruiz did. Guided by the Holy Spirit to an unexpected goal after an adventurous journey, he told the court that he was a Christian, and must die for God, and would give his life for him a thousand times.”

Canonized along with 15 companions by St. John Paul II seven years later in 1987, St. Lorenzo is remembered as a layperson who embodied true missionary discipleship until his painful death. Festivals and Masses are held each year in Filipino communities throughout the U.S. honoring his legacy.  

“I am a Catholic, and I wholeheartedly accept death for God.  If I had a thousand lives, I would offer them all to him.” 
-St. Lorenzo Ruiz