Itnesses of the Faith in the Orient

Itnesses of the Faith in the Orient

ITNESSES OF THE FAITH IN THE ORIENT Dominican Martyrs of Japan, China, and Vietnam WITNESSES OF THE FAITH IN THE ORIENT Dominican Martyrs of Japan, China, and Vietnam By a team of Dominican Fathers Under the Direction of CEFERINO PUEBLA PEDROSA, O.P. Translated by Sister Maria Maez, O.P. First Edition 1989 Second Edition – 2006 Revised and Updated by George G. Christian, O.P. Province of St. Joseph, USA Web site: http://www.op-stjoseph.org PROVINCIAL SECRETARIAT OF MISSIONS DOMINICAN PROVINCE OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY HONG KONG CONTENTS Page PRESENTATION (Guillermo Tejón) .................................................. -iii- PROLOGUE (Ceferino Puebla) ...................................................... -iv- FOREWORD .................................................................... -vi- I. MARTYRS OF JAPAN ........................................................... 1 Map ............................................................................ 3 Introduction (Ceferino Puebla) ....................................................... 4 A. MARTYRS OF JAPAN (1617-1628) .............................................. 8 Chronological index of martyrdom ............................................... 9 Biographies of the martyrs (José Delgado García) ................................. 10 Bibliography ............................................................... 56 B. MARTYRS OF JAPAN (1629-1637) ............................................ 58 Chronological index of martyrdom .............................................. 59 Biographies of the martyrs (Pedro González Tejero) ................................ 60 Bibliography .............................................................. 107 C. LAY DOMINICANS, CATECHISTS, INNKEEPERS, BENEFACTORS, MEMBERS OF THE CONFRATERNITY OF THE ROSARY martyred in Japan (1602-1628) (José Delgado García) ........................... 108 1. Lay Dominican Martyrs ................................................... 109 2. Notable martyred catechists ................................................ 117 3. Important martyred innkeepers .............................................. 118 4. Martyred benefactors of the Dominicans ...................................... 120 5. Martyred members of the Confraternity of the Rosary . 122 a) Members of the Rosary of Number ........................................ 123 b) Members of the Confraternity of the Rosary and the Holy Name of Jesus ............................................. 125 c) Members of the Confraternity of the Rosary . 126 Epilogue ................................................................. 137 II. MARTYRS OF CHINA ......................................................... 138 Map ......................................................................... 139 Introduction (Ceferino Puebla) .................................................... 140 -i- Chronological index of martyrdom ................................................. 145 Biographies of the martyrs (Constantino Montero) ..................................... 146 Bibliography .................................................................. 172 III. MARTYRS OF VIETNAM ..................................................... 173 Map ........................................................................ 174 Introduction (Ceferino Puebla) ................................................... 175 A. MARTYRS OF VIETNAM BEATIFIED BY LEO XIII . 178 Chronological index of martyrdom ............................................. 179 Presentation (Francisco Zurdo) ............................................... 180 Biographies of the martyrs ................................................... 181 B. MARTYRS OF VIETNAM BEATIFIED BY PIUS X . 214 Chronological index of martyrdom ............................................ 215 Presentation (Francisco Zurdo) .............................................. 216 Biographies of the martyrs .................................................. 217 C. MARTYRS OF VIETNAM BEATIFIED BY PIUS XII . 235 Chronological index of martydom ............................................ 236 Presentation (Francisco Zurdo) .............................................. 237 Biographies of the martyrs .................................................. 238 [Canonized by Pope John Paul II on 19 June 1988] Conclusion ................................................................... 258 Bibliography .................................................................. 259 INDEX ......................................................................... 261 MARTYRS OF JAPAN ........................................................ 262 Martyred (1602-1628) ....................................................... 262 Priests and Professed Dominicans ............................................ 262 Lay Dominicans with Solemn Vows .......................................... 262 Secular Lay Dominicans ................................................... 262 Notable Catechists ....................................................... 263 -ii- Innkeepers .............................................................. 263 Benefactors of the Dominicans .............................................. 264 Confraternity of the Rosary of Number ........................................ 264 Confraternity of the Rosary ................................................. 265 Children and Adolescents .................................................. 267 Martyred (1629-1637) ...................................................... 267 MARTYRS OF CHINA ........................................................ 268 MARTYRS OF VIETNAM ..................................................... 269 Province of Our Lady of the Rosary ................................................... 271 “Orientalia Dominicana” Publications ................................................. 272 -iii- PRESENTATION To present a book such as this gives great pride to each member of the Dominican Order, especially to the sons and daughters of the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary. So must it be for St. Dominic himself — he who dreamed of going to pagan mission fields and longed for martyrdom! St. Dominic’s dream was not fulfilled, but his spiritual children did not forget it. Many of them also dreamed of the missions and of martyrdom. Since Paul of Hungary and his companions died for the faith in Poland in 1241, the Order has never been without missions and the missions have never been without martyrs. The Province of Our Lady of the Rosary was specifically founded in 1587 for the missionary apostolate envisioned by St. Dominic. The then Master of the Order, Father Hyppolytus Mary Beccaria stated: “The Province incarnated the authentic spirit of St. Dominic.” This is why there has never been a lack of martyrs in the Province since its founding. History testifies to the abundance of them — thousands of them in various areas of its missionary field. The martyrs have been of many nationalities and from all social classes. Unfortunately, for many of them no records exist; only their names are known. Those whose biographies are contained in this volume are among the better known and documented. They contain an important Dominican Martyrology of the Far East. Some of the martyrs in this collection are from the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary, but many others come from other Provinces of the Order. The Province of the Rosary has the honor of presenting this Martyrology — on the occasion of the celebration of the IVth Centenary of its founding — to the entire Dominican Family and to all others who treasure the missionary vocation. In the early centuries of the Church it was said that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of Christianity. Let us pray that the examples of courage and strength of the martyrs will preserve the faith of God’s people in the places where they evangelized. We hope, too, that our apostolic commitment will likewise be strengthened and that the seeds of missionary vocations will flourish. GUILLERMO TEJON, O.P. Provincial Province of Our Lady of the Rosary Hong Kong, 10 June 1988 -iv- PROLOGUE On the occasion of the IVth Centenary of the founding of the Dominican Province of Our Lady of the Rosary, we present short biographies of the martyrs in its missionary territories of Japan, China, and Vietnam. Innumerable lay Christians suffered martyrdom for the faith in those countries, along with many foreign and native missionaries. There were Lay Dominicans, members of the Confraternity of the Rosary, innkeepers, benefactors, and other faithful from every walk of life and social stratum. They gladly followed their shepherds to death in witness to the Gospel. Of the one hundred and seventy- four of them who have been officially beatified by the Church, 76 have been canonized. From the opening of the first mission in Japan in 1602 by Father Francis Morales and his four companions, up to 1637, the Christian religion struggled to spread the Gospel. Many priests and laypersons followed the example of the first Dominican martyr, Father Alphonse de Navarrete, who was executed in 1617. The torments suffered by the Japanese faithful were especially painful and cruel. During the period following the official suppression of the missionaries in 1637, the faith went underground. Thanks to the organization and evangelization activities of the Japanese faithful, it was possible to keep the seeds of the “good news” alive, albeit in hiding, until the “hidden Catholics” were able to come out in public around Nagasaki in 1865. The evangelization

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