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Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society
We are members of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society which is a Pious Union of Clerics of the Archdiocese of Manila. As a Society, we were established in 1997 through the inspiration of the missionary vision of John Paul II for Asia and the world, through the support and the pastoral thrust of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, through the pioneering initiative of Jaime Cardinal Sin, and the support of the Filipino-Chinese Apostolate. We exist to expand the missionary work of the local church in the Philippines as well as to continue the pioneering work of Bishop Domingo de Salazar, bishop of Manila, who begun the apostolate among the local Chinese of the Philippines in the sixteenth century.
Agents of Bridging Dialogue
JOSE CARDINAL ADVINCULA PRESIDES OVER MASS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
On June 15, 2026 His Eminence Jose Cardinal Advincula, D.D., Archbishop of Manila presided over the Mass in honor of the Holy Spirit to open the Academic Year 2026-2027. The Holy Eucharist was participated by various seminaries with their formators and seminarians. Each school or academic year is usually formally opened through the Mass in honor of the Holy Spirit. As every seminary presents the number of seminarians to the Cardinal, Msgr. Noly A. Que, LRMS presented the 30 seminarians of the Lorenzo Mission Institute for the Academic Year 2026-2027. In his homily, the Cardinal emphasized these 5 important points: First, the Holy Spirit is the principal agent of every seminary formation. Every seminarian has to rely on the gifts of the Holy Spirit; Second, the Holy Spirit helps each seminarian to discern. Disernment is not synonymous with choice or mere preference but it is an imbued gift from the Holy Spirit; third, the Holy Spirit creates agents of mission. It is not a mission to be managers or skilled workers but a leader with a heart of the Good Shepherd; fourth, it is the Holy Spirit who give gifts for the building of the Christian community. Thus, the priesthood is imbued gift from the Holy Spirit for without the Holy Spirit there will be no priesthood; fifth, the Holy Spirit creates a special joy for someone who becomes a priest and a servant of God.
"MILLE ANIMAS"
LRMS SPIRITUALITY
"Mille Animas"
as our Missionary Formation and Inspiration
Mille Animas means "A Thousand Lives." LRMS spirituality is centered on God whom San Lorenzo Ruiz died for and it is rooted in his martyrdom in Japan that inspires the missionary to bridge the Christian faith to cultures and to dialogue with peoples of different walks of life. The LRMS missionaries are inspired by the word of San Lorenzo Ruiz mille animas as a pillar of encouragement and charity by offering their lives entirely to Christ for the sake of mission and the Church. It is our desire like San Lorenzo Ruiz to go to the missions with the sense of self-emptying, simplicity, and humility to bridge Christ and the Church to the people they are sent to serve. Inspired by San Lorenzo Ruiz, Mille Animas lies at the heart of the missionary spirituality of every member in the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society.
EVENTS
Contact Us:
Lorenzo Mission Institute
912 EDSA, Guadalupe Viejo, Makati City,
1211 Philippines
Tel: +63(2)8895-88-55 local 450 or 452
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St. John Paul II: The Mind and Heart of LMI Beginnings
The papacy of John Paul II was remarkable for the advancement of missio ad gentes in the Philippines. There were three important events that triggered a new phase of missionary thrust of the local church in the Philippines. This began with the first pastoral visit of John Paul II to the Philippines in 1981. He met the Bishops of Asia that would later comprise the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences. His inaugural meeting with them in Manila marked a new milestone for Asian way of doing mission. The second event that moved Asia to a new missionary consciousness was the Beatification of Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila in 1981 at the Luneta Park which was the first event that happened outside the Vatican and his canonization as the first proclaimed martyr-saint of the Philippines in 1987. The third important event was his visit to the Lorenzo Mission Institute in 1995 on the occasion of the 10th World Youth Day that had 5 million attendees which also marked the biggest youth assembly in the history of the Church.
It was also from these three events that carved the new history of the Archdiocese of Manila where it did not only host the first inaugural meeting of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC), the Beatification of Lorenzo Ruiz, but it was also the solidifying evidence of John Paul II's mission vision and dream for Asia. The establishment of the Lorenzo Mission Institute became a clear manifestation of the local church's commitment to mission in Asia. Thus, the underlying motivations of missionary approaches towards the Filipino-Chinese Apostolate as well as the desire to do missions among Chinese communities overseas became an evolving preferential option. The direction of missions of the 21st century is towards a global mission anchoring on the idea that the mission we undertake is God's mission. Understand world mission is to be understood under entire realm of God's mission in the world (Missio Dei). The Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society begins its inception, its missionary identity and its thrust from the womb of the Filipino-Chinese Apostolate and has evolved into a missionary Society for world missions. Today, the missionary assignments of the members of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society are gradually moving from the center of its inception to the centrifugal direction of missionary work in the world. John Paul II had already observed and articulated the Church's new evolving missionary direction. His Encyclical Letter "Redemptoris Missio" said: "The Second Vatican Council sought to renew the Church's life and activity in the light of the needs of the contemporary world. The Council emphasized the Church's "missionary nature," basing it in a dynamic way on the Trinitarian mission itself." The movement of the Spirit in the mission of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society has become conspicuous in the dynamic missionary work and assignments of the members of the Society today.
John Paul II is the only pope who has visited the Lorenzo Mission Institute. He has not only a memory which will never be forgotten but he also left the imprint of a missionary zeal to focus missions in Asia. China was one of the wonderful places the Roman Pontiff had dreamt of visiting. With the lamp that was lighted by John Paul II in the Philippines, that light and missionary spirit of bringing the Gospel to Asia had grown now into a wider concern of the local church. The Lorenzo Mission Institute is just response to the urgent call of the formation of a local clergy and the evangelization in Asia. Through the years, the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society has grown in its number of members and it had not lost its fervor to develop missio ad gentes in spite of challenges and difficulties of missionary work in China and Taiwan. The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines mentions the missionary imperative of the local church in the Philippines for Asia as it looks beyond its shores and takes note of the missionary opportunities (cf 109). The spirit of mission which was been planted by John Paul II had already grown and hopefully will reap a good harvest in the years to come.
Jaime Cardinal Sin: The Soul of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society and the Lorenzo Mission Institute
The initiative and the ingenuity of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin made the two institutions namely, the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society in 1997 and the Lorenzo Mission Institute in 1987 emerge for mission among the Filipino-Chinese Communities in the Philippines and missions beyond the Philippines.
Jaime Cardinal Sin, the former Archbishop of Manila desired to continue the legacy of the former archbishops of Manila with regard to the missions pertinent to the Filipino-Chinese Apostolate. This apostolate was formally begun by Bishop Domingo Salazar who was the first bishop of Manila. It was his vision to evangelize and catechize the Chinese who frequent themselves for trade in the Philippines. The Chinese since the 16th century sailed through their sampans and made frequent trade with the local Filipinos during those times. The Chinese were known to be "sangleys" that originated from the Chinese words "chang lai" which literally means "frequent coming." From the past until today, ethnic Chinese in the Philippines as well as migrants from China remain to be a phenomenon in the Philippine society. With the exigency of priests to pastorally serve and evangelize them remains a constant Church's concern. With the visions of Pope Paul VI that the Philippines should be a "lamp" for the countries in Asia, as well as the vision of Pope John Paul II that the Philippines has to be a "light" to Asia, Jaime Cardinal Sin, enthusiastically began to build a seminary for missio ad gentes with a particular concern for the missions among the ethnic Chinese in the country and abroad. He became the architect and founder of the seminary which is called "Lorenzo Mission Institute" for form seminarians for mission. 6 years after the first ordination to the priesthood in 1991, the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society was born with 7 initial members. Both seminary and the Society were initiated and supported by Jaime Cardinal Sin.
Through the years, the Lorenzo Mission Institute did not remain to be a missionary place of priestly formation limited to Filipino-Chinese or Filipino seminarians but it was a formation house that had welcomed Chinese seminarians from Mainland China. This provided the door towards accepting perpetual members who are priests to join the Society. Today, the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society joins the local church in the Philippines in expressing gratitude to the Lord for the gift of the Christian faith for more than 500 years by being missionaries for Christ and the Church. Both the Lorenzo Mission Institute and the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society remain to be visible and living witnesses of a legacy and mission that were begun by the forebears of the Catholic faith and the missionaries to the Chinese in the Philippines. Jaime Cardinal Sin stands as the founding father of both institutions and his vision linger on until today.
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