Saint Paul Miki and Companions
Twenty-six martyrs crucified at Nagasaki in 1597.
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Martyr, Religious
- Life
- 1562 – 1597
- Era
- 16th century
- Feast
- 6 February
- Countries
- Japan
Life story
Paul Miki was born around 1562 into a Christian samurai family in Japan. He was educated by Jesuits at the school in Azuchi, entered the Society of Jesus and became a respected preacher. He was one of the twenty Japanese among the twenty-six martyrs, who included three Japanese Jesuits and seventeen laymen of the Franciscan Third Order. The Japanese Jesuits had been accepted into the order after training in the colleges founded by Alessandro Valignano.
In late 1596, after a dispute connected with the wrecked Spanish galleon San Felipe, the ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the arrest of missionaries. They were seized at Kyoto and Osaka, had part of the left ear cut off, and were marched for nearly a month, over 800 kilometres, to Nagasaki in winter. With them went six Franciscan missionaries from Spain, Mexico and India, and Japanese Christians such as the boy Louis Ibaraki, about twelve years old. One of the Franciscans was Peter Baptist, a Spanish friar who had lived in Japan for several years, and among the Japanese martyrs were catechists and helpers of the missionaries.
On 5 February 1597 they were tied to crosses on a hill outside Nagasaki and pierced with spears. According to the accounts of Jesuits who witnessed it, Paul Miki spoke to the crowd from the cross, declaring that he was Japanese and that he forgave those who put him to death. Their bodies were left on the crosses for some time before being taken down by Christians.
Pius IX canonised them on 8 June 1862. They were the first martyrs of Japan formally recognised by the Church; their shared feast is 6 February.
Works and witness
- Paul Miki studied at the Jesuit school at Azuchi and became a preacher.
- Twenty-six people were arrested at Kyoto and Osaka in late 1596.
- They marched more than 800 kilometres to Nagasaki in winter.
- They were executed on 5 February 1597 and canonised in 1862.
Saints from the same country
References
- Luís Fróis, Historia de Japam
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.