St. Paul Miki and Companions

St. Paul Miki was born around 1562 into a well-to-do Japanese military family, in the first generation after St. Francis Xavier brought the Gospel to Japan. Educated by the Jesuits, he entered the Society of Jesus as a young man and became one of its most effective native preachers and catechists, drawing many of his countrymen to the faith during the years when Japanese Christianity was growing rapidly. That growth stirred suspicion. In 1587 the ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi issued an edict banning missionaries, and in 1596 the persecution turned deadly. Paul Miki, then nearing ordination to the priesthood, was arrested in a sweep of Jesuits, Franciscan friars, and Japanese laymen. Twenty-six in all — priests, religious brothers, catechists, and laypeople, including three young boys — were mutilated, paraded through the streets, and forced to march some six hundred miles overland in winter from Kyoto to Nagasaki as a warning to other Christians. On February 5, 1597, on Nishizaka Hill overlooking Nagasaki harbor, the twenty-six were crucified, bound to crosses and killed with lances in the Japanese manner. Contemporary accounts relate that Paul Miki preached from his cross to the crowd, declaring that he was Japanese and a Jesuit, that he was dying for the Gospel, and that he forgave and prayed for those responsible for his death. The martyrs died singing and praying, the boys among them encouraging one another. The protomartyrs of Japan were beatified in 1627 by Pope Urban VIII and canonized in 1862 by Pope Pius IX — the first canonized martyrs of the Far East. Their witness bore hidden fruit: when Japan reopened to the world two centuries later, missionaries found communities of 'hidden Christians' who had preserved the faith in secret. Today the Twenty-Six Martyrs Monument and Museum stands on Nishizaka Hill in Nagasaki, a place of pilgrimage. Their feast is celebrated on February 6, and they are honored as patrons of Japan.