“I am a Christian… I shall die for God, and for Him I will give many thousands of lives if I had them.”
These were the famous words spoken by the Filipino-Chinese missionary, Lorenzo Ruiz. With great faith and courage, he became the first Filipino saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, the “most improbable of saints,” as St. Pope John Paul II described him.
Today, Filipinos everywhere in the world continue to celebrate and honor San Lorenzo Ruiz for his martyrdom. Our community Mass was led in song by seminarians in the Asian Choir.
San Lorenzo Ruiz was beatified by St. Pope John Paul II in Manila on February 18, 1981 (the very first person beatified outside the Vatican) and later canonized in Vatican on October 28, 1987.
We were honored to welcome Archbishop Jorge Carlos Patrón Wong, secretary for seminaries at the Congregation for Clergy, as our celebrant for Mass.
After Mass, Archbishop Wong met and took photos with our seminarians, promising to remember them in his prayers. He also prayed with seminarians in our Asian choir as they honored San Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church.
Thank you Archbishop Wong for your leadership and service.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for us!
