陸毅神父 (Fr. Luis Ruiz) 一生致力服務本澳及中國大陸的貧苦大眾長達六十多年。陸神父平生時刻關心那些捱饑抵冷、無家可歸的弱勢社群,而他那分無條件的愛和關懷更成為他褔傳的共同語言。陸神父時常掛在口邊的那句話是:「不用太擔憂,因為天父會引領我們及為我們解困的。」

雖然陸神父時常往返不同地區為有需要的人們服務,無論他有多疲倦,到了夜深人靜時,他仍堅持地向天父禱告,祈求上主的幫助好讓他幫助有需要的人。

陸神父在澳門所做的事蹟已得到了很多(老、中、青)澳門人認同。就如陸神父於七、八十年代期間為澳門作出了極大的貢獻,特別是當時來自柬埔寨、緬甸、越南等及其隣近地區的難民提供了不同程度的協助。他的無私奉獻及全心全意服務社會的精神實在令人景仰。雖然他已回歸天父的身邊,但他一生服務中國及澳門的事蹟已成為澳門歷史的重要部分了!

親愛的陸神父,一位充滿愛德的牧者,感謝主派遣您來和我們一起生活,能夠認識您是我們的榮幸。我們會永遠永遠……懷念您!

來自美國加州 — ' 成 ' 的一家人
Ching's Family from Sacramento, USA
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Rev. Luis Ruiz who served the needy in Macau and mainland China for over 60 years . He preached with the universal language, unconditional love. He would take off his sweater in cold winter and gave it to the homeless. His famous saying was "Don't worry, God will show us the way and take care of the situation." He insisted to pray every night no matter how tired he was from travelling to remote places. He was a devoted experienced Social Worker, a selfless Community leader who helped to provide the necessities to the refugees from Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam and nearby regions. He contributed to the social stability in Macau especially during the 1970s. We strongly support the plan to archive Rev. Luis Ruiz's pictures, and stories as it is a major history of Macau.

Dear Fr. Ruiz you have done so much to spread the meaning of love, you have been a good servant of God. We are so proud to say that we have known you. We thank God for giving you a peaceful journey to His side. We really miss you!

In prayers,
Anna & Mary Ching

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How fortunate am I to be able to get to know this saintly priest from Spain. Fr Ruiz, lived and breathed charity. He helped so many destitued Chinese in Macau and China. He would hug and embraced the severely infected lepers. He would zoom from orphanages to orphanages to provide love and support. The mentally handicapped, the patients with AIDS were his children. He had built schools, care centers, clinics all over the poorest regions in China. His heavy Spanish accented, Mandarin and Cantonese were universally understoon by all around him, because he only spoke the language of love. I cherished the time I was able to attend his church while I was growing up, to plan soccer with him, joined his choir, helped to serve the poor. What an honor it was. Of all the people I have met in my life, I would have to say Fr Ruiz is the brightest star I have ever seen. Rest, Dear Fr. Ruiz you have done so much to spread the meaning of love, you have been a good servant of God. I am so proud to say that I have known you. We thank God for giving you a peaceful journey to His side. We really miss you!

In Prayers,
Ed Ching

Fr. Ruiz dies at 97: Macau bids farewell to ‘Father of the poor’
www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/27715-Ruiz-dies…
Father Luis Ruiz Suarez, whose death at the age of 97 was announced yesterday, was without a doubt one of the most important figures in Macau, being the founder of what people know today as the social services system, providing help to the poor, elderly and mentally challenged.
Most people knew the Spanish Jesuit by his Chinese name – Father ‘Luk Ngai’ – or more commonly by ‘Father of the poor’, due to his devoted work “with the poorest of the poor”.
“He was a devoted priest and a greater-than-life figure,” said Fr. Luís Sequeira, until recently head of the Jesuit order in Macau.
“He gave everything he had to the poor and [those] suffering. He was completely selfless and he demonstrated that attitude in all his work,” Fr. Sequeira told Macau Daily Times.
Fr. Ruiz came from Spain and arrived in China in 1941. He studied Mandarin in Beijing and then Philosophy in Shanghai, and was ordained in Xian County, Hebei province.
After the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, in 1949, Fr. Ruiz was sent to Hong Kong and then to Macau, where he arrived in 1951.
World War II had ended a few years earlier and people in Macau were suffering great hardships as the territory was flooded with refugees from neighbouring regions. On arriving in Macau, Fr. Ruiz immediately began to serve the poor, mainly refugees. He opened the doors of Macau’s Jesuit Residence – Casa Ricci – and started the Ricci Centre for Social Services, now the Macau branch of Caritas.
There, he helped refugees obtain documentation, find jobs and provided education for their children. “An urgent priority,” as Fr. Ruiz used to say, because that would ensure a bright future for these children.
“He [Fr. Ruiz] founded institutions for helping people in need. In fact, he established several institutions that still today provide help to people with different needs, not only in Macau but also in mainland China,” said Fr. Sequeira.
“When Fr. Ruiz arrived in Macau it was not easy to establish these types of centres, but he managed to do it and he shouldered all the responsibility,” said Paul Pun Chi Meng, secretary-general of Caritas Macau.
As the refugees gradually left Macau, he turned his attention to the region’s poverty-stricken and abandoned elderly citizens.
He established Macau’s first homes for elderly men and women and he gradually broadened the scope of services to include the mentally challenged.
In mainland China, Fr. Ruiz helped establish leprosy centres in remote areas, providing basic services and assistance. He then turned his attention to AIDS victims, also founding care centres in the Mainland.
He used to say that his work was to serve the poorest of the poor, those who are in great need.
“No matter how daunting the problems were, he always found solutions. He used to remind us constantly that nothing makes you happier than to make people happy,” Pun told MDTimes.
That was indeed one of his favourite quotes. “He would always do everything with a smile,” recalled Fr. Sequeira.
“Even though he was already physically limited in recent years, he kept visiting people in mainland China and celebrating mass in the Lar São Luís Gonzaga for the mentally challenged,” the priest added.
“There is no bigger joy than to serve poor people. Their faces and smiles are the greatest reward you can get from helping people,” Fr. Ruiz had said in an article by João Guedes published in Revista Macau in November 1994.
Yesterday, Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On released a message of condolence. “It was with deep regret that I learned that Father Luis Ruiz Suarez has passed way,” he said, paying tribute “to a great philanthropist and citizen of Macau”.
“His work was worthy of recognition and respect by the entire society,” said Chui Sai On, adding that Fr. Ruiz “will remain an example of the great values of solidarity and unconditional dedication to others”.
That will definitely be his legacy, said Pun. “I was lucky to meet and work with him, and what I aspire is to follow in his steps.”
An unconditional fan of Real Madrid and Rafael Nadal, as well as a follower of the Formula One championship, Fr. Ruiz will be an example for younger generations.
“Everyone could and should learn something from him and the way he devoted his time to others,” said Fr. Sequeira.
Fr. Ruiz was, as has become widely agreed in Macau, a truly great and devoted man. “He was happily doing something that was supposed to be very difficult and his work will be appreciated for decades,” concluded Pun.