DOMINICAN
SAINTS AND
BLESSED
A SAINT is a person who is
recognized as having an
exceptional degree of
holiness or likeness or
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closeness to God.
Depending on the context
and denomination, the
term also retains its
original Christian meaning,
as any believer who is "in
Christ" and in whom Christ
dwells, whether in Heaven
or on Earth.
Being named a SAINT in the
Catholic Church is a very high
honor. It means the saint’s
name is added to the official
catalogue of saints, and that
Masses and feast days can be
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celebrated in his or her honor.
Churches can then be
dedicated in the saint’s
memory, and his or her name
can be used in public prayers,
such as litanies. What does it
take for someone to be
named a saint? The process
is called canonization and it
involves 4 major steps.
• SERVANT OF
GOD Your text here
• VENERABLE
• BLESSED
• SAINT
4 Steps to
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Becoming
a Saint
1. REQUEST FOR
CANONIZATION
• At least five years after a person’s death (unless a special
exception is made by the pope), a formal request is made to
consider him or her for sainthood.
• The people making the request are usually from the candidate’s
church or religious community.
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• They submit their request to the bishop of the diocese where
the person died. The request tells how the person lived a life of
holiness and lists reasons for considering the candidate for
sainthood.
• If the bishop believes there is enough evidence to consider the
person for sainthood, he asks the Vatican for permission to open
a special tribunal.
• Witnesses are then called to attest to the candidate’s goodness,
holiness, devotion to God, and other virtues. If a person passes
this step, he or she is named a “Servant of God.”
Your text here
Servant of God Alfredo Obviar Servant of God Alfredo Verzosa Servant of God Teofilo Camomot
2. Determination
• The bishop sends a formal report and request to Rome where it
is reviewed by the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.
• Nine theologians read the material and determine whether
there is enough cause to pass it to the entire Congregation.
• If so, the candidate’s writings and other aspects of his or her life
are studied to make sure there is nothing that goes against the
teachings and practices of the Church.
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• As part of this investigation a person called a “devil’s advocate”
raises questions and objections to the candidate’s sainthood.
• This is to make sure the final decision is complete and fair, and
all evidence of the candidate’s saintliness is assured. Once a
candidate has been determined to be virtuous and heroic in his
or her faith, he or she is declared “Venerable.”
Your text here
Venerable Mo. Francisca del Espiritu Santo Venerable Mo. Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
3. Beatification
• The next step is beatification.
• If the candidate was a martyr, someone who died for their faith,
he or she may be beatified and named “Blessed.”
• Otherwise, a miracle brought about by the intercession of the
saint must occur and be verified by the Congregation.
• Once the person is beatified and named “Blessed,” he or she
can be venerated, or officially honored, in his or her city,
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diocese, region, or religious community.
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Blessed Jose Maria de Manila
4. Canonization
• After being beatified, another miracle is required for the person
to be canonized and officially declared a saint.
• Once again, the miracle must have occurred as a result of the
person’s intercession.
• The Prefect of the Congregation then sends the cause for
canonization to the pope who makes the final decision.
• Once a person is canonized, he or she is officially declared a
“Saint.” Your text here
• The pope declares this in an official way at a special Mass in
honor of the new saint.
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz Saint Pedro Calungsod Saint Vincent Liem dela Paz
DOMINICAN
SAINTS AND
BLESSED
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz
• Born in Binondo (Manila) probably in 1600, son of a Chinese father and mother Tagalog,
Lorenzo Ruiz was educated in the Christian religion, which their parents were faithful
devotees. In childhood he/she attended the school of the Dominican fathers of his hometown,
and from then on his life was closely linked to the regular order, first as sacristan of the
monastery friars had in Binondo and then exerting the role of clerk or notary, thanks to its
expertise in writing. According to sources, he/she was also a member of the confraternity of
the Holy Rosary, institution in the Philippines since 1587, and it seems that he/she contracted a
marriage he/she had two sons and a daughter, although their names are not known.
• In 1636 he/she was involved in a crime committed in Manila, and the prospect of being
accused of this, he/she decided to embark on an expedition together with other four Dominican
missionaries whose fate was in principle Macao, although after the ship headed for Japan, a
country where Christianity was persecuted. In consequence, shortly after having arrived in the
island of Okinawa (the Ryukyu archipelago), Lorenzo and his companions were arrested and
imprisoned. In September of 1637 were sent to the Japanese city of Nagasaki to be tried there,
but the refusal to recant the Christian faith they were martyred with horrible torture. While
some of the Dominicans finally renounced their faith, Lorenzo resisted all the torments and
proclaimed their willingness to die by God with the following words: "I am a Christian and I
will continue to be Christian until the very moment of death [...] only I will offer to God my
life, and even if I had a thousand lives, a thousand times would offer it." One of the most
terrible tortures to which he/she was subjected was forced to drink huge amounts of water until
it caused him vomit, practice suffered repeatedly for two days; Despite this, he/she continued
to deny God. Finally, on September 27 he/she was conducted to the sacred hill of Nishizaka,
where he/she was hanged and hung upside down. His mortal remains were thrown into the fire
and the ashes thrown into the sea.
• February 1981, the Supreme Pontiff beatified him along with other fifteen missionaries died in
Japan during the 17TH century, and finally on October 18, 1987 was canonized at the Vatican
along with other Dominican missionaries, although all of them only Lorenzo Ruiz was
originally from the Islands. His feast is celebrated on September 28.
