SaintMartyr
Saint Paul Miki
Saint Paul Miki (c.1562 to 5 February 1597) was a Japanese Jesuit and preacher, the best known of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan.
Biography
Saint Paul Miki (c.1562 to 5 February 1597) was a Japanese Jesuit and preacher, the best known of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan. He was born into a wealthy Japanese family and was educated by the Jesuits at Azuchi and Takatsuki. He entered the Society of Jesus and became a well-known preacher who brought many to the Catholic faith.
When the ruler of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, turned against the Christians, Miki was arrested with other Catholics. The prisoners were marched from Kyoto to Nagasaki, a journey of some 966 kilometres, and sang the Te Deum on the way. At Nagasaki on 5 February 1597 they were bound to crosses and killed with lances. Paul Miki preached his last sermon from the cross and forgave his executioners.
Twenty-six died that day: Paul Miki and two other members of the Society of Jesus, John Soan of Goto and James Kisai, and twenty-three more, clergy and lay people. Pope Pius IX canonized them all in 1862. The memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions is kept on 6 February.
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