SANTA MARIA – On Saturday, 26 September 2026, the Filipino Ministry of Santa Barbara Pastoral Region Deanery 1 will celebrate the Feast of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz at the parish of Saint Mary of the Assumption, 414 East Church Street.
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz (c. 1600–1637) was a Filipino layman, husband and father who served the Church in Manila before traveling with Dominican missionaries to Japan. There he was arrested and tortured for refusing to renounce his Catholic faith, and was martyred at Nagasaki in 1637. Canonized by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1987, he became the first canonized Filipino saint and is honored as a patron of the Philippines and Filipino Catholics throughout the world.
Mass will be celebrated at 10am by Fr Altaire Fernandez, followed by a reception in the parish hall.
Participants are invited to bring an image of San Lorenzo Ruiz to be blessed and may wear barong Tagalog or other Filipino attire.
For more information, contact Jake Buenaventura at 805-680-9551.
