Biography
Manuel Ruiz López
About Manuel Ruiz López
Manuel Ruiz López was a Spanish Franciscan priest who led the community at the monastery of Saint Paul in Damascus. Born in San Martín de las Ollas on May 5, 1804, he entered the Franciscan order in 1825 and was ordained in 1830. He reached the Holy Land the following year and studied Arabic in Damascus, where he served the parish associated with the conversion of Saint Paul.
Illness interrupted his work in the East. After time in Italy, he returned to Spain and taught Hebrew and Greek in Burgos. He also served the parish at Para before returning to Damascus to lead the Franciscan community.
During the attacks on Christians in Damascus in July 1860, people sought shelter inside the monastery. The biographical account reproduced by the Archdiocese of Burgos says the friars remained because they would not abandon those who had taken refuge there. Ruiz died in the monastery on July 10.
The Church’s account of his final moments is preserved in the apostolic letter announcing the beatification in 1926. It describes Ruiz giving absolution to his companions and consuming the consecrated hosts before the attackers reached him. Found praying at the altar, he refused to renounce his faith and was killed. This is the martyrdom account received by the Church in its recognition of the group, rather than an eyewitness statement written by Ruiz himself.
Religious identity alone does not explain everyone’s conduct during the violence. In their study of Emir Abdelkader’s actions in Damascus, historians Senoussi and Bougadoum describe his protection of thousands of Christians. Their published abstract emphasizes both the shelter he offered and his efforts to stop the attacks, relating his intervention to religious principles and respect for human life. His actions belong alongside the account of persecution when remembering the events of 1860.
Pius XI’s letter recognized eight Franciscan friars together with three Maronite laymen, the Massabki brothers. Dated October 10, 1926, it authorized their public veneration within specified churches and communities, including the Franciscan order.
Pope Francis canonized Manuel Ruiz and his companions on October 20, 2024. In his homily, he placed their witness within a Christian understanding of service, contrasting the desire for power with a life offered for others. He named their faithfulness in martyrdom alongside the work of the other saints canonized that day. The homily remembers them through the commitments that shaped their lives as well as through their deaths.
The Burgos diocesan calendar commemorates Ruiz on July 10, the anniversary of his death. His remembrance thus connects the village where he was born, the churches he served in Spain and the community in Damascus where his ministry ended.
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