by Joel V. Ocampo
On September 22, 2024, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) elevated the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish and Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz, commonly known as Binondo Church in Manila, into a national shrine. The announcement was made public during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, presided by His Eminence Jose F. Cardinal Advincula, D.D., Archbishop of Manila.
History San Lorenzo Ruiz Shrine
On February 18, 1981, the Holy Mass for the Beatification of Lorenzo Ruiz was held in Manila during the Papal Visit to the Philippines of St. John Paul II. That same day, His Eminence Jaime L. Cardinal Sin, the then Archbishop of Manila, petitioned for the establishment of a national shrine dedicated to Blessed Lorenzo Ruiz. The request was granted during the 51st Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in July 1985. Because of this, the Church of Blessed Lorenzo Ruiz and Companion Martyrs in Dagat-dagatan, Kaunlaran Village, Navotas City was designated as the national shrine dedicated to Blessed Lorenzo Ruiz, even if the church building which at that time was not yet erected.
On October 18, 1987, the same Pope led in the Vatican the Canonization of St. Lorenzo Ruiz and Other Martyrs. Subsequently, Cardinal Sin petitioned the Holy See to elevate the Binondo Church into the Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz. The petition was granted. Thus, on October 25, 1992, Binondo Church was solemnly elevated to the status of Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz, and came to be recognized as a National Shrine.
Because of the absence of a formal decree transferring the title of “National Shrine” from Dagat-dagatan, Navotas City to Binondo, the CBCP Permanent Council, during its meeting on July 5, 2024, approved the recognition of Binondo Church as the official National Shrine of San Lorenzo Ruiz.
The Decree of Recognition from the CBCP further states,
“This decision was made in response to a request from His Eminence Jose Cardinal Advincula, who sought clarification on the matter. Since the Binondo Church has been widely recognized as the National Shrine for more than thirty consecutive years, and the original church in Dagat-dagatan has never formally claimed this title since its completion, in accordance with Canon 26, this recognition has now acquired the force of the law. Therefore, by this document, we hereby officially recognize the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish Church in Binondo, Manila as the MINOR BASILICA AND NATIONAL SHRINE OF SAN LORENZO RUIZ.”
Shrines, According to Code of Canon Law
“The term shrine is understood as a church or other sacred place to which numerous members of the faithful make pilgrimage for a special reason of piety, with the approval of the local ordinary” (Can. 1230). For a shrine to be called a diocesan or archdiocesan shrine the local ordinary (bishop/archbishop) must give its approval (Can. 1232 §1).
Can. 1233 also states “Certain privileges can be granted to shrines whenever local circumstances, the large number of pilgrims, and especially the good of the faithful seem to suggest it.” The Code of Canon Law continues, “At shrines the means of salvation are to be supplied more abundantly to the faithful by the diligent proclamation of the word of God, the suitable promotion of liturgical life especially through the celebration of the Eucharist and of penance, and the cultivation of approved forms of popular piety” (Can. 1234 §1).
San Lorenzo Ruiz and the Binondo Church
Binondo Church is the place where Dominican priests built a mission for the Chinese in 1587, and became a parish in 1596. It was destroyed when the British invaded Manila in 1762. Secular priests took over the church in 1766, but returned to the Dominicans in 1822. It was turned over again to secular priests again in 1896. The church and convent were renovated in 1946-1971.
When he was young, San Lorenzo Ruiz served as an altar server and catechist at the Binondo Church. He studied under the Dominican priests. Sometime later, he earned the title of calligrapher because of his skillful penmanship. He also became a member of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. San Lorenzo Ruiz is a loving father to two sons and husband to Rosario.
As many of us know, while he was working as a clerk for Binondo Church, San Lorenzo Ruiz was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard. To protect his life from danger, he boards a ship with the help of three Dominican priests and leaves for Okinawa on June 10, 1636. At that time, the colonial expansion of Spain and Portugal in Asia had been made possible by the work of Roman Catholic missionaries. Thus, during this Tokugawa Period in Japan, the Tokugawa shoguns saw the missionaries as a threat to their rule. Therefore, Christianity was banned in Japan.
Upon arrival in Japan, San Lorenzo Ruiz and the missionaries were arrested and put into prison. Years later, they were transferred to Nagasaki to face trial by torture. San Lorenzo Ruiz and his companions faced various types of torture. On September 27, 1637, he and his companions were taken to the Nishizaka Hill, where they were tortured, and hung upside down over pits. Boards were placed around their waists and weighted with stones. They were hung for some days until Lorenzo died from blood loss and suffocation on September 29, 1637. He refused to renounce Christianity, his body was cremated, with the ashes thrown into the sea. He was notable for saying “I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for God. If I have a thousand lives, I will still give them all to God.”
Beatification and Canonization
On February 18, 1981, during the Holy Mass for the Beatification of Lorenzo Ruiz, Pope John Paul II (now also a saint) said the following:
Christ is truly acknowledging, in the presence of his Father in heaven, those faithful martyrs who acknowledged him before men.
Just as the young Church in Jerusalem brought forth its first martyr for Christ in the person of the deacon Stephen, so the young Church in Manila, founded in 1579, brought forth its first martyr in the person of Lorenzo Ruiz.
The example of Lorenzo Ruiz, reminds us that everyone's life and the whole of one's life must be at Christ's disposal. Christianity means daily giving, in response to the gift of Christ who came into the world so that all might have life and have it to the full. To die for the faith is a gift to some; to live the faith is a call for all.
Let us endeavor to imitate the commitment to faith and the fidelity to commitment of those who, through their difficult missionary task, accepted with joy and steadfastness hard journeys, difficulties of climate, betrayal even by their friends, privations of every kind and terrible tortures.
Six years after, on October 18, 1987, he addressed the Philippine pilgrims who had come for the canonization of San Lorenzo Ruiz and the other Philippine martyrs,
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz calls Philippine Catholics of today to uphold and strengthen their nation’s baptismal consecration.
His example urges you to meet the challenges of the present with the same strength of character and trust in God with which he faced the supreme test of love.
In a special way, Saint Lorenzo Ruiz calls Philippine families to grow in dignity, harmony and responsibility as the “domestic Church”, where each one learns to be at the service of all, witnessing to the sanctity of human life at every stage and in every condition.
For all of this we must pray to God through the intercession of Mary, for whom you have such great devotion, and through the intercession of the newly canonized martyrs.
photos from Minor Basilica and National Shrine of San Lorenzo Ruiz Facebook Page
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