Jesus told us to take up our cross, but that was figurative, right? Nobody has been crucified since the Roman persecutions. Wrong! St. Paul Miki and 25 other Japanese, European, and Mexican men and boys were crucified and lanced to death in 1597 in Nagasaki, Japan. Born the son of a Japanese military leader, St. Paul Miki was educated by the Jesuits and became a Jesuit brother preparing for priesthood. At his death he preached: “As I come to this supreme moment of my life, I am sure none of you would suppose I want to deceive you. And so I tell you plainly: there is no way to be saved except the Christian way. My religion teaches me to pardon my enemies and all who have offended me. I do gladly pardon the Emperor and all who have sought my death. I beg them to seek baptism and be Christians themselves.”
Japan had been evangelized by St. Francis Xavier and others in 1549 and was looked upon with favor by the Japanese authorities. About 200,000 Japanese had converted, including local rulers. However, this changed when political elements of trade started to concern the primary leader, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and his successors to the point that they were outlawed, hunted, and executed. There are around 1,000 known martyrs of this period.
After Japan was opened to foreign interaction by Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853, it was discovered that thousands of Japanese in the Nagasaki area had maintained their faith for almost 250 years without priests through the rite of baptism. “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Today, there are 509,000 Catholics in Japan, less than one-half of one percent of the total population. St. Paul Miki and companions, pray for us.
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