PARISH INFORMATION
Pastor: Rev. Andrzej (Andrew) Cyruk
Associate Pastor: Rev. Eduardo Lopez
St. Francis Xaiver Church
5650 Mavis Rd. , Mississauga, L5V 2N6
905-890-5290
Further information about our Parish can be found here.
DPCDSB Virtue of the Month
San Lorenzo Ruiz
Feast Day: September 28
Born to a Chinese father and Filipino mother, both Christians, Lorenzo learned Chinese and Tagalog at home, Spanish from the Dominicans whom he served as altar boy and sacristan. He was a professional calligrapher and document transcriptionist. He was also a member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary. He was a married layman, and the father of two sons and a daughter.
For unclear reasons, Lorenzo was accused of murder. He sought asylum on board ship with three Dominican priests, Saint Antonio Gonzalez, Saint Guillermo Courtet, and Saint Miguel de Aozaraza, a Japanese priest, Saint Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz, and a layman named Saint Lazaro of Kyoto, a leper. Only when they were at sea did he learn that they were going to Japan during a time of intense Christian persecution.
The group was soon exposed as Christian, arrested, and taken to Nagasaki, Japan. They were tortured in several ways for days. Lawrence and the Japanese priest broke at one point, and were ready to renounce their faith in exchange for release, but after their moment of crisis, they reclaimed their faith and defied their tormentors. San Lorenzo Ruiz is the first canonized Filipino martyr.