On Sept. 27, the St. Patrick’s Seminary & University community celebrated the feast day of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, the patron saint of the Philippines and the Filipino people, with a procession, Mass and traditional Filipino feast.

 San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila was a missionary to Japan during the Tokugawa Shogunate in the mid-17th century. He was eventually martyred along with his companions for his Catholic beliefs. His last words were “I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for God; had I a thousand lives, all these to Him shall I offer.”

The annual event was hosted by the seminary’s Filipino seminarians, who make up a fifth of the student body.

The event began with a procession around the seminary’s main drive and into Mass in the main chapel. After the Mass, guests processed to the refectory for a reception with traditional Filipino foods and traditional “Tinikling” bamboo dance.

Full story at Catholic San Francisco.