Paulo Miki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Saint Paul Miki | |
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| Martyr | |
| Born | 1562, Tsunokuni, Japan |
| Died | February 5, 1597, Nagasaki, Japan |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | September 14, 1627 by Pope Urban VIII |
| Canonized | June 8, 1862 by Pope Pius IX |
| Feast | February 6 |
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Paulo Miki (1562 – 1597) was a Japanese Roman Catholic martyr and saint, one of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan.
[edit] Biography
Paul Miki was born into a rich family. He was educated by Jesuits in Azuchi and Takatsuki. He joined the Society of Jesus and preached the gospel for his fellow citizens. The Japanese government feared Jesuit influences and persecuted them. Miki was jailed among others. He and his Christian peers were forced to walk 600 miles (≈966 kilometers) from Kyoto while singing Te Deum as a punishment for the community. Finally they arrived to Nagasaki, the city which had the most conversions to Christianity, and was crucified on February 5, 1597. He preached his last sermon from the cross, and it is maintained that he forgave his executioners stating that he himself was a Japanese. Alongside him died Joan Soan (de Gotó) and Santiago Kisai, of the Society of Jesus, in addition to twenty-three clergy and laity. All of whom were canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1862.
