Blessed Peter Kibe Kasui
Blessed Peter Kibe Kasui (Japanese: Petoro Kasui Kibe; born Kibe Shigekatsu; born 1587 AD in Bungo Province, on the Kunisaki Peninsula of Kyushu, Japan; died July 4, 1639 AD at Edo (modern Tokyo)) was a Japanese Jesuit priest and martyr, famous for the extraordinary overland journey by which he travelled from the Far East to Rome to be ordained — becoming the first Japanese known to have reached Jerusalem — and for the heroic constancy with which he endured torture and death during the persecution of Christians under the Tokugawa shogunate. He is the best known of the group of 188 Martyrs of Japan (Petrus Kibe Kasui and 187 Companions), beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on November 24, 2008, at Nagasaki. His feast is kept on July 1 with those martyrs (and individually on July 4, the day of his death).[1][2]
Exiled from Japan in 1614 and refused ordination in Macau because he was Japanese, Kibe set out to reach Rome by his own means, crossing India, Persia, and the Holy Land on foot and by ship. He was ordained a priest at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in 1620 and entered the Society of Jesus.[1] After years of effort he re-entered his homeland in 1630 to minister secretly to the hidden Christians of northern Japan.[1]
Arrested in 1639 and taken to Edo, he was subjected to the cruel "pit" torture but refused to renounce his faith, encouraging his fellow prisoners to the end; he was finally put to death.[1][2]
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Peter Kibe Kasui
| Blessed Peter Kibe Kasui | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | July 01 |
| Profession | Priest; missionary; martyr |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Society of Jesus (Jesuits) |
| Patronage | Venerated among the Martyrs of Japan |
| Attributes | Jesuit cassock; palm of martyrdom |
| Birthplace | Bungo Province (Kunisaki Peninsula), Kyushu, Japan |
| Death Place | Edo (modern Tokyo), Japan |
| Cause of Death | Martyrdom under the Tokugawa persecution: tortured in the "pit" (ana-tsurushi) at Edo and put to death on July 4, 1639 |
| Liturgical Class | Optional Memorial (with the 188 Martyrs of Japan) in the calendar of the Church in Japan |
| Historic Class | Not in the 1960 calendar |
Biography
Birth and early life
Peter Kibe was born in 1587 in Bungo Province, on the Kunisaki Peninsula of Kyushu in southern Japan, the son of Christian parents; his given name was Kibe Shigekatsu.[1][2] He was educated in the Jesuit seminary in Japan and served as a catechist (dōjuku) at a time when the once-flourishing Japanese Church was falling under increasing persecution.[2]
Exile and the journey to Rome
In 1614 the shogunate ordered the expulsion of missionaries and prominent Christians, and Kibe was exiled to Portuguese Macau, where he studied Latin and theology.[1] Because he was Japanese, he and his companions were not admitted to ordination there; determined to become a priest, Kibe resolved to make his way to Rome by his own route.[1] He travelled by ship to Malacca and to Goa in Portuguese India, and then continued overland — through Persia, across the Strait of Hormuz, and by way of Baghdad — becoming the first Japanese known to have reached Jerusalem before arriving at last in Rome.[1] This astonishing journey later earned him the nickname of the "Japanese Marco Polo."[2]
At Rome, Kibe was ordained a priest at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran on November 15, 1620, and shortly afterward entered the Society of Jesus, completing his formation and pronouncing his vows.[1]
Kibe was determined to return home to serve the persecuted Church, though Japan was by then almost entirely closed to missionaries. After years of attempts, travelling by way of Goa and the Philippines, he finally succeeded in landing in Japan in 1630.[1] He ministered in secret to the hidden Christian communities, especially in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan around Sendai, sustaining the faithful through years of danger.[1][2]
Arrest and martyrdom
In 1639 Kibe was betrayed and arrested while sheltering in the home of a Christian, and was taken to Edo (modern Tokyo).[1] There he was subjected to the dreaded torture of the pit (ana-tsurushi), in which the victim was hung upside down over a pit, and to other cruelties intended to force apostasy.[2] Unlike the apostate former Jesuit Cristóvão Ferreira, who was present, Kibe refused to give in and continued to encourage the other Christians who suffered with him; his torturers spoke of him as the man who would not say "I give in."[2] He was finally put to death on July 4, 1639.[1]
Significant events
- Born in Bungo Province of Christian parents and trained as a catechist.
- Exiled to Macau in 1614; denied ordination there because he was Japanese.
- Made an extraordinary overland journey to Rome, becoming the first Japanese to reach Jerusalem.
- Ordained a priest at Saint John Lateran (1620) and entered the Society of Jesus.
- Returned in secret to Japan in 1630 to serve the hidden Christians of the north.
- Arrested in 1639, tortured in the pit at Edo, and martyred on July 4, 1639.
- Beatified by Pope Benedict XVI at Nagasaki on November 24, 2008, among the 188 Martyrs of Japan.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Bungo Province (Kunisaki Peninsula), Kyushu, Japan
Death location: Edo (modern Tokyo), Japan
Notable location: Birthplace (Kunisaki Peninsula, Bungo Province (Ōita), Kyushu, Japan)
Notable location: Where he was ordained a priest in 1620 (Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome, Italy)
Notable location: First Japanese known to have reached the city, on his overland journey to Rome (Jerusalem (Holy Land))
Notable location: Where he ministered to hidden Christians after his return (Sendai / Tōhoku region, Japan)
Notable location: Place of his imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom (Edo (modern Tokyo), Japan)
Dynamic content
Parishes
No parishes dedicated to Peter Kibe Kasui have been added to the database yet.
Media
No media found for this saint.
Shrines
Dynamic shrines
No results
No shrines where this saint is the primary saint.
Canonization
Beatification
Peter Kibe Kasui was beatified on November 24, 2008, in a Mass at Nagasaki celebrated on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, as head of the group known as Petrus Kibe Kasui and 187 Companions — the 188 Martyrs of Japan.[1][2] He has not been formally canonized.
Feast day
July 01 (with the 188 Martyrs of Japan; individually commemorated July 4, the day of his death)
Veneration
Blessed Peter Kibe Kasui is venerated among the Martyrs of Japan and is honoured in a particular way by the Society of Jesus and the Church in Japan. He is remembered both for the almost incredible journey by which he sought ordination and for the fortitude of his martyrdom, and stands as a symbol of the perseverance of the Japanese Christians through their long persecution. In art he is shown in the cassock of a Jesuit priest with the palm of martyrdom.[1][2]
Prayers
Authored
There are prayers authored by this saint in prayers list yet.
Intercessory
There are no prayers asking for this saint's intercession in prayers list yet.
External links
- Wikipedia – Petro Kasui Kibe
- Wikipedia – Martyrs of Japan (Petrus Kibe Kasui and 187 Companions)
- Catholic Archdiocese of Tokyo – Beatification of 188 Japanese Martyrs