Blessed 205 Martyrs of Japan

Life story

This is a large group that includes priests from several orders, among them Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits, together with lay brothers, tertiaries, catechists and many ordinary lay people. They were Japanese and foreign, and a few were Koreans brought to Japan as captives after the invasions of Korea. Each has an individual story, but they are grouped by their shared circumstances.

Christianity reached Japan with Francis Xavier and the Jesuits from the 1540s. In 1587 Toyotomi Hideyoshi banned Jesuit missionaries, and in 1614 the Tokugawa government prohibited Christianity altogether, after which many believers went underground.

The executions in this group took place between 1617 and 1637; the shared feast of 10 September is tied to the great Nagasaki executions of 1622. Among those named are the Jesuit Carlo Spinola, Japanese women such as Agnes Takeya and Apollonia of Nagasaki, and Louis Sasada.

Pope Pius IX declared them venerable on 26 February 1866 and beatified them in 1867. Sources for individual members vary in quality, so details about a single person should be checked against separate biographies.

Works and witness

• Included priests, brothers, tertiaries, catechists and lay people
• Executed under the Tokugawa, 1617 to 1637
• Group includes the Jesuit Carlo Spinola
• Declared venerable on 26 February 1866
• Beatified in 1867

Saints from the same country

The 26 Martyrs of Japan, Blessed Justo Takayama, Saint Magdalene of Nagasaki, Saint James Kisai

References

• Decree of beatification, Pius IX, 1867
• Martyrologium Romanum (10 September)
• Studies of the Japanese martyrs (Nagasaki martyrdom of 1622)

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.