This July 1, Pope Francis decreed the canonization of Blessed Manuel Ruiz López for next October 20. This courageous Franciscan defended the Holy Eucharist with special astuteness before dying at the hands of radical Muslims who entered his convent.
According to the Custody of the Holy Land (CTS) the martyrdom occurred “on the night between July 9 and 10, 1860.” At that time, a command Druze (anti-Christian Muslim sect) broke into the Franciscan convent of Bab-Touma, in Damascus (Syria).
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The CTS indicates that Father Manuel Ruiz ran to the church to protect the Eucharist. Meanwhile he Franciscan Directory of Saints It specifies that the blessed took communion of the Blessed Sacrament when the attackers entered.
Father Ruiz found himself cornered by the attackers, who told him to become a Muslim or else he would be killed. Thus the brave friar responded: “I am a Christian and I will die as a Christian.”
In this way, the radicals put his head on the altar and killed him.
Later, the invaders went in search of the others who were in the convent and massacred them.
The future Saint Manuel Ruiz is the one who leads the so-called martyrs of Damascus, a group of 7 Franciscans and 3 laymen who were blood brothers. The 11 martyrs will be proclaimed saints on October 20.
Abel Camasca
Journalist graduated from the Communication Sciences degree at the University of Lima. He has been part of the ACI Prensa journalistic team since 2014. Between 2016 and 2022 he was in charge of the production of the television program EWTN Noticias and Más que Noticias, a World Catholic Radio program. He often writes articles about the lives of saints.