Lorenzo Ruiz, a Christian family man in the Philippines, was a sacristan and bookkeeper for the Dominicans in Binondo near Manila, where he lived with his wife and three children. In 1636, he went with a group of Dominicans to Okinawa in Japan to work in the mission. There, however, he was soon arrested and thrown into prison with his companions. On 27.09.1637 he gave his life for Christ. In 1987, he was canonised by Pope John Paul II.