Luis Ruiz Suárez

Luis Ruiz Suárez S.J. (September 21, 1913 – July 26, 2011) was a Spanish-born Jesuit priest and missionary to China. Father Ruiz founded Casa Ricci Social Services, and later the Caritas Macau charity. His work in the 1950s focused mainly on refugees from mainland China. As Casa Ricci's works developed, it spawned Caritas Macau and Ruiz turned the focus of Casa Ricci to work with lepers and their families, and still later to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. He came to be known by several nicknames – "Luk Ngai" (in Cantonese), "Father of the Poor", and "Angel of Macau."

Early life Luis Ruiz Suarez was born in Gijón, Asturias, Spain, on September 21, 1913. He joined the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, in 1930. the first bishop of Macau, founded there the first Western-style hospitals in Asia. Ruiz's first major work was with refugees fleeing from the People's Republic of China. as a temporary shelter for the mainland Chinese refugees. This led to the establishment of Father Ruiz's first charity in Macau, the Ricci Center for Social Services, which offered a variety of social services.

When the refugees were able to leave the Portuguese territory, Father Ruiz began work with other groups in Macau. He founded the first housing in Macau specifically established to house the elderly, "Betania Home" for men and "Santa Maria Home" for women. He also extended services to the north of the peninsula and Taipa Island to alleviate family poverty and child labor.

When Christian social workers were again admitted to China, Casa Ricci was one of the first to address the needs of disabled persons and lepers. Ruiz began by obtaining medical care, food, water, and help with housing, while religious sisters joined his efforts. This work extended to Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces of China. The anniversary of these new efforts, under the now established name of Casa Ricci Social Services, was celebrated in 2017. Ruiz emphasized reintegrating into society the children of lepers, securing their education along with other children. He established orphanages where they would not be associated with the stigma of leprosy. It is estimated that Father Ruiz worked with more than 8,000 leprosy patients living in 140 leper colonies located throughout China.

In 1995, the government of Hongjiang, Hunan province, invited Father Ruiz to establish a center for HIV and AIDS patients in the Chinese province.

After 2005, his efforts extended to helping lepers in Vietnam and Burma. He was widely known for his ability to appeal to people for help, with his list of benefactors estimated at about 2,500, as he made appeals in places like Hawaii and the US, He used silk screen prints crafted by refugees to help raise funds. While Caritas Macau worked mainly in the city, Ruiz founded the Ricci Social Service Foundation to foster the widespread work of Casa Ricci Social Services, "to help the people living in the Chinese mainland and the Macao SAR on the margins of poverty and society... and contribute to the development of the country as a whole." For the Ricci Social Service Foundation, the revised text of the "articles of association was filed in the Department's 2010/ASS/M2 file group on May 6, 2010".

On a personal level, Father Ruiz was said to be an ardent fan of Formula One, Real Madrid and Rafael Nadal.

Father Luis Ruiz Suarez died in Macau on July 26, 2011, at the age of 97. Chief executive of Macau, Fernando Chui, in his condolences described Ruiz as "a great philanthropist and citizen of Macau ...(whose) work was worthy of recognition and respect by the entire society. ... (He) will remain an example of the great values of solidarity and unconditional dedication to others." He was buried at San Miguel cemetery on August 3, 2011.

In 2015, the Ricci Social Service Foundation was running 50 programs distributed in 13 provinces of China with 64 leprosy centers for a total of 4,000 patients and five HIV homes with a total of 300 HIV+ mothers/adult. It was also caring for 1500 students from poor families.