San Lorenzo Ruiz Prayer Garden

Saint Lorenzo Ruiz is the first Filipino saint and martyr. He was born around the year 1600 in Binondo, Manila in the Philippines to a Chinese father and Filipino mother. He was raised Catholic and served his church as an altar boy and calligrapher. He also joined the Dominican Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. 

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In 1636, Lorenzo was accused allegedly of murdering a Spaniard. To protect his safety at the time, he fled home and found refuge on board a ship with three Dominican priests and a leper. There are no details of this alleged crime other than a journal entry by two Dominican priests, that he joined their group to escape possible arrest. The ship departed the Philippines on June 10, 1636, bound for Okinawa.

At the time of their arrival, the rulers of Japan, the Tokugawa Shogunate, were persecuting Christians. Lorenzo was arrested by Japanese officials for the crime of being a Christian and ordered to recant his faith. When he refused he was imprisoned for two years. On September 27, 1637, Lorenzo and his companions were taken to Nagasaki to be tortured and killed if they would not recant their faith. Lorenzo and his companions were tortured by water, which was forced into their mouths and down their throats and out their noses and ears. Despite the painful torture, the men refused to do so. Following this, Lorenzo was hanged upside down, with a rope around his ankles. This method of torture was known as tsurushi, or "gallows and pit." The torture forces a person to be hanged upside down with a gash cut in their forehead to prevent too much blood from gathering in the head. The gash also causes the victim to bleed to death over an extended period of time.

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Lorenzo refused to recant. According to the record of his death, his last words were, "I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for God. Had I a thousand lives, all these to Him I shall offer. Do with me as you please."

Lorenzo was beatified by Pope John Paul II on February 18, 1981. The beatification ceremony was held in the Philippines making it the first beatification ceremony ever held outside the Vatican.His canonization took place at the Vatican on October 18, 1987.

Saint Lorenzo Ruiz is the patron saint of Filipino youth, the Philippines, people working overseas, and altar servers.

His feast day is September 28.

Named after Padre Pio, also known as Saint Pio of Pietrelcina. He was an Italian priest who was known for his piety and charity as well as for the gift of the stigmata, which has never been explained.

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Like the Apostle Paul, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina placed at the centre of his life and apostolic work the Cross of his Lord as his strength, his wisdom and his glory. On the level of social charity, he committed himself to relieving the pain and suffering of many families, chiefly through the foundation of the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (House for the Relief of Suffering).

St. Philomena Prayer Garden

This prayer garden is offered to St. Philomena,  a Greek princess became a virgin martyr and died at 13-years-old.

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St. Philomena came to Sister Maria Luisa di Gesu and told her she was the daughter of a Greek king who converted to Christianity. When Philomena was 13-years-old, she took a vow of consecrated virginity. After her father took his family to Rome to make peace, Emperor Diocletian fell in love with Philomena. When she refused to marry him, she was subjected to torture. St. Philomena was scourged, drowned with an anchor attached to her, and shot with arrows. Each time she was attacked angels took to her side and healed her through prayer. Finally, the Emperor had Philomena decapitated. According to the story, her death came on a Friday at three in the afternoon, the same as Jesus. 

Two anchors, three arrows, a palm symbol of martyrdom, and a flower were found on the tiles in her tomb, interpreted as symbols of her martyrdom.

Schoenstatt, which means ‘beautiful place’, is a small German village located just 8 kilometers north of the city of Koblenz. It was here (in 1912) that a young, recently ordained priest, Fr. Joseph Kentenich, was assigned to be Spiritual Director of the Minor Seminary of the Pallotine Fathers. His aim was “to form his young students into ‘firm, free, priestly personalities’.

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In April of 1914, the students established a Marian Congregation, and in that same year, an abandoned small chapel in the valley – dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel – was made available for their use. Fr. Kentenich was strongly influenced by the writings of St. Louis de Montfort, and the teachings of this wonderful Marian saint were a source of inspiration to him as he guided the new sodality.

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The official title of Our Lady of Schoenstatt is Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt. The roots of this title are found, first of all, in the fact that the Marian Sodality of Schoenstatt was inspired by the Sodality at Ingolstadt. It was there that Mary was first venerated under the title, Mother Thrice Admirable. A prayer composed by Fr. Kentenich that was circulating at that time began with the words, “Mother Thrice Admirable, teach us to do battle as your warriors.

An American Catholic priest and founder of the Knights of Columbus. Through the Knights, Father McGivney sought to form Catholic men into good spouses and fathers. He has become known as Apostle to the Young and Defender of Christian Family Life. He saw strong families as the foundation of his parish

Father McGivney dedicated his life to the spiritual and physical welfare of others, creating the Knights of Columbus to provide insurance for the protection of widows and orphans, and the spiritual benefit of its members and families.