Feb. 6 is the feast day of the 26 Martyrs of Nagasaki. Also referred to as

the feast of St. Paul Miki and companions. I have written about them before.

They were all crucified on a hill in Nagasaki City in 1597 for the sole

crime of being Catholic. There is a monument with sculptures of each of the

26 on the site of the crucifixion. Behind the monument is a museum dedicated

to the martyrs and next to it is a church called St. 

Philip of Jesus Church, named after another one of the 26, the first Saint

from Mexico.

Since I live so close to Nagasaki I decided to drive down for the

anniversary Mass. The Mass was right on that same hill, the site of the

crucifixions. The archbishop of Nagasaki presided along with about 4 other

bishops and around 40 other priests. There were about 1500 people in

attendance which was amazing considering that it was around 0 degrees (very

cold for Nagasaki) and it was raining. The rain stopped at pretty much the

exact time that the Mass started though!

I couldn't understand hardly anything that was said since it was all

Japanese but I had a book with the English and Japanese Mass parts side by

side. They also sang most of the Mass parts in Latin which made it easier to

follow. It was great to see the Japanese people's pride in their local

Saints. It was also comforting to see that even though Japan is one of the

least religious countries, there are still people who have a strong faith

and are carrying on the mission that started hundreds of years ago when St.

Francis Xavier arrived in Japan.

26 Martyrs of Nagasaki....Pray for us.