SAN DIEGO — The 36th annual diocesan celebration of the Feast of San Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint and martyr, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 9, at St. Columba Parish.
It will begin with a procession and prayers at 9 a.m., followed at 10 a.m. by a Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano. A reception will follow.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz was born in Manila in 1594 and grew up in a Catholic family. He became a missionary and sailed to Okinawa in 1636, along with three Dominican priests. In Japan, he refused to renounce his faith and died after two days of torture at the age of 42.
“I am a Christian, this I profess until the hour of my death and, if I had a thousand lives, I would give them all to the Lord,” he is said to have declared before dying.
For more information, call (858) 490-8306 or email adiaz@sdcatholic.org.
