Sep 28, About Today for Saturday of the 25th week of Ordinary Time September 28 Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr; Saint Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs Optional Memorial St. Wenceslaus was the Duke of Bohemia in the 10th century. He was the son of a Christian father; Wratislaw I, Duke of Bohemia, and a pagan mother; Dragomir, who converted to Christianity when she married. Around the age of 18, St. Wenceslaus assumed power and was a fair ruler. St. Wenceslaus was murdered by his brother, Boleslaw, for religious and political reasons. St. Wenceslaus is the patron saint of the Czech Republic and is the mentioned in the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslaus.” [1] St. Lawrence Ruiz was born in the Philippines in the early 1600’s. His mother was Filipino and his father was Chinese. He was educated in the Dominicans, married and fathered three children. He became a member of a Rosary Confraternity as well as a local church clerk. As part of a missionary expedition to Japan, St. Lawrence Ruiz was captured. He was tortured and killed along with his companions; 4 priests and a leper, under the Christian persecutions imposed by Tokugawa rulers. He was beatified by John Paul II in 1987, the first Filipino martyr so honored. [2][3]
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 13:29:15 +0000