A Guide to Filipino Saints

Majority of the Filipinos are catholic. In that sense, more people observe Roman Catholic traditions, and many of them have lived leading a religious life. Here are two of the Filipino saints recognized by the Roman Catholic Church you need to know of.

Saint Lorenzo Ruiz

Image grabbed from legatus.org

San Lorenzo Ruiz is the First Filipino saint venerated in Catholic Church. Born in Binondo, Manila, Lorenzo Ruiz is of Chinese-Filipino descent. Ruiz served altar boy in Binondo Church, where he actively participated in a religious confraternity. As he grew older, he came to marry and had two sons. In 1636 he was wrongly accused of killing a Spaniard, and that’s when he escaped a possible arrest where he boarded a ship to Japan. In there, he was arrested by officials and tortured him for being a “Christian.” Ruiz was beatified during then Pope John Paul’s visit to the Philippines and officially became a saint when he was canonized in October 18, 1897 in Vatican City.

Saint Pedro Calungsod

Image grabbed from calungsod.wordpress.com

Saint Pedro Calungsod is the second saint to be recognized from the Philippines. He was a Filipino migrant who suffered religious persecution in Guam. While there, he was said to have preached Christianity even at the expense of his own life. Not a lot was known about his early life but places of his origin include Cebu and Iloilo. He was beatified in March 2000 by Pope John Paul and was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican last 2012.

Source: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=231