Luis Ruiz Suarez, Spanish-born Macanese Jesuit priest died he was , 97

Luis Ruiz Suarez, S.J., was a Spanish-born Macanese Jesuit priest and missionary died he was , 97. Father Suarez, who founded the Caritas Macau charity, and focused much of his work in Macau and southern China. His work earned him several nicknames - "Luk Ngai" in Cantonese, "Father of the Poor" and "Angel of Macau."

(September 21, 1913 - July 26, 2011)

Luis Ruiz Suarez was born in Gijón, Asturias, Spain, on September 21, 1913.^[4] Ruiz joined the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, in 1930.^[1] The Jesuits sent him from Spain to China in 1941 as a missionary.^[3] He arrived in Beijing, where he studied Mandarin Chinese, and was then sent to Shanghai, where he studied philosophy.^[3] He was forced to cease his work due to the escalation of World War II and the Japanese occupation of China.^[1] Father Suarez resumed his work in 1945.^[1] His superiors stationed him in Xian County in Hebei province.^[3] He was arrested, briefly imprisoned and expelled from the newly formed People's Republic of China in 1949 following the Chinese Communist Revolution.^[1] While in prison, Suarez contracted typhoid before his expulsion from China.^[1] Father Suarez left China for Hong Kong, before settling in Macau in 1951.^[3]
In 1951, Father Ruiz's Jesuit provincial sent him to Macau, a Portuguese colony along the southern Chinese coast, to recover from his typhoid.^[1][3] He resided in Macau for the rest of his life. Suarez soon began working with refugees fleeing from the People's Republic of China after just a few months in Macau.^[1][5] He used the official Jesuit residence in Macau, which was called Casa Ricci, as a temporary shelter for the mainland Chinese refugees.^[3] This led to the establishment of Father Ruiz's first charity in Macau, the Ricci Centre for Social Services.^[2][3] The center furnished refugees with housing, educational opportunities, documentation, child care and employment.^[3]
Father Ruiz soon began work with other groups in Macau as the refugees were able to leave the Portuguese territory. He founded the first housing in Macau specifically established to house the elderly.^[3] The Ricci Centre for Social Services later evolved into the Caritas Macau charitable organization during the 1970s.^[2][3] Under Caritas, Suarez opened five centers throughout Macau which provided services for the mentally disabled.^[2][3]
During the 1980s, Ruiz began working with lepers in Guangdong province, with the help of an order of Catholic nuns, the Sisters of Charity of St. Anne.^[2] Father Ruiz was invited by a Chinese priest and former prisoner, Father Lino Wong, to visit an island in China where 200 lepers had been exiled in 1986.^[4] The visit began Ruiz's ministry for lepers in the country. It is estimated that Father Ruiz worked with more than 8,000 leprosy patients living in 140 leper colonies located throughout China.^[2] His work with lepers proved so time consuming that he voluntarily handed over control of Caritas Macau to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau in 1994.^[2]
In 1995, the government of Hunan invited Father Ruiz to establish a center for HIV and AIDS patients in the Chinese province.^[2] He would found other centers for AIDS patients in mainland China.^[3]
On a personal level, Father Ruiz was said to be an ardent fan of Formula One, Real Madrid and Rafael Nadal.^[3]
Father Luis Ruiz Suarez died in Macau on July 26, 2011, at the age of 97.^[2] His funeral was attended by dignitaries, including Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Cheong U.^[5] He was buried at San Miguel cemetery on August 3, 2011.^[5]

 

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