Blessed Peter Paul Navarro
Blessed Peter Paul Navarro (Italian: Pietro Paolo Navarro; born 1560 AD at Laino Borgo, Cosenza, in the Kingdom of Naples; died November 1, 1622 AD at Shimabara, Japan) was an Italian Jesuit priest, missionary, and martyr. After entering the Society of Jesus in his native southern Italy, he was sent to the East, ordained at Goa in India, and reached Japan in 1586, where he laboured for more than thirty-five years. When the shogunate expelled all foreign missionaries in 1614, he was one of the priests who chose to remain and minister in secret; captured after Christmas 1621, he was burned alive at Shimabara on November 1, 1622. He was beatified by Pope Pius IX on May 7, 1867, among a large group of martyrs of Japan, and his feast is kept on November 1.[1][2][3]
A native of Calabria, Navarro entered the Jesuit novitiate as a young man and asked to be sent to the missions of Japan. Sent first to Goa for his studies and ordination, he arrived at Hirado in western Japan in 1586 and devoted his first year to mastering the Japanese language, thereafter adopting the dress and customs of the country in order to show that the Christian faith was no enemy of Japanese life.[2] He worked in mission stations across the islands and made Shimabara in northern Kyushu the centre of his labours.[2]
When the edict of 1614 drove the missionaries from Japan, Navarro was among the roughly two dozen Jesuits who remained hidden to serve the persecuted Christians. For seven years he moved through the region disguised as a beggar, wood-seller, farmer, or pedlar, celebrating Mass and administering the sacraments by night.[1][2] Betrayed and arrested after Christmas 1621 together with his companions, he was condemned to death by slow fire and burned alive at Shimabara on November 1, 1622, chanting the Litany of Our Lady as the flames rose.[2]
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Peter Paul Navarro
| Blessed Peter Paul Navarro | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | November 01 |
| Profession | Priest; Jesuit missionary; martyr |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Society of Jesus (Jesuits) |
| Patronage | Missionaries; the Church in Japan |
| Attributes | Jesuit habit; palm of martyrdom; flames of the stake |
| Birthplace | Laino Borgo, Cosenza, Kingdom of Naples (now Calabria, Italy) |
| Death Place | Shimabara, Hizen Province (now Nagasaki Prefecture), Japan |
| Cause of Death | Martyrdom; burned alive at the stake on November 1, 1622, at Shimabara |
| Primary Shrine | Venerated among the Martyrs of Japan |
| Liturgical Class | Not in the General Roman Calendar; observed by the Society of Jesus and among the martyrs of Japan |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Birth and early life
Pietro Paolo Navarro was born in 1560 at Laino Borgo in the province of Cosenza, in the Kingdom of Naples (present-day Calabria, Italy).[1][2] As a young man he entered the Society of Jesus in the region of Naples, about the age of eighteen, and asked to be sent to the missions of Japan.[2][1] His request was granted, and he was sent to Goa in India to complete his studies, where he was ordained a priest in 1585.[2]
Missionary in Japan
Navarro arrived at Hirado in western Japan in August 1586.[2] Recognising that the success of the mission depended on understanding the people, he spent his first year in intensive study of the Japanese language, becoming fluent in both speech and writing, and deliberately adopted Japanese dress, food, and manners so as to show that converts need not abandon their own culture.[2] He served in a succession of mission posts across the islands, and after persecution drove him from Hirado he made Shimabara in northern Kyushu the principal centre of his work.[2] His command of the language allowed him to compose religious works in Japanese, including an apology of the Christian faith against the objections of its opponents.[2]
Underground ministry
In 1614 the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu issued an edict expelling all foreign missionaries from Japan. Navarro was one of about two dozen Jesuits who chose to remain and continue their ministry in hiding rather than leave the Christians without priests.[2][1] For the next seven years he travelled through the Shimabara region disguised variously as a beggar, a seller of wood, a tradesman, or a farmer, moving chiefly by night to reach the homes of Christians, where he celebrated Mass and administered the sacraments.[1][2] He was assisted in this dangerous work by lay catechists, among them the young Peter Onizuka and the older Denis Fujishima, together with his servant Clement Yuemon.[2]
Arrest and imprisonment
After Christmas 1621 Navarro and his companions were captured by the priest-hunters.[2] The local lord treated them with a measure of respect, even allowing the priest to celebrate Mass and permitting Christians to visit them; it is said that the lord would have preferred to send them secretly to safety at Macau, but the orders of the shogun prevailed, and they were condemned to death by slow fire.[2] Receiving the news of his sentence with joy, Navarro wrote that he gave "infinite thanks to the Lord."[2]
Martyrdom
On November 1, 1622, the feast of All Saints, Navarro celebrated Mass in prison, during which his two catechists, Peter Onizuka and Denis Fujishima, professed their vows in the Society of Jesus.[2][1] That same day he was led to the place of execution at Shimabara and burned alive at the stake; according to the accounts of his death he chanted the Litany of Our Lady while the fire consumed him, his companions answering with the responses.[2] He was about sixty-two years old.[2]
Significant events
- Born in 1560 at Laino Borgo in Calabria.
- Entered the Society of Jesus and volunteered for the mission to Japan.
- Sent to Goa, where he was ordained a priest in 1585.
- Arrived in Japan in 1586 and mastered the Japanese language and customs.
- Made Shimabara the centre of a long and fruitful missionary apostolate.
- Remained in Japan to minister in secret after the expulsion edict of 1614.
- Arrested with his companions after Christmas 1621 and condemned to death by fire.
- Burned alive at Shimabara on November 1, 1622.
- Beatified by Pope Pius IX on May 7, 1867.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Laino Borgo, Cosenza, Kingdom of Naples (now Calabria, Italy)
Death location: Shimabara, Hizen Province (now Nagasaki Prefecture), Japan
Notable location: Birthplace (Laino Borgo, Province of Cosenza, Calabria, Italy)
Notable location: Where he studied theology and was ordained a priest (Goa, India)
Notable location: Where he arrived in Japan in 1586 and learned the Japanese language (Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan)
Notable location: Centre of his missionary work and place of his martyrdom (Shimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan)
Notable location: Where he was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1867 (Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome, Italy)
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Canonization
Beatification
The martyrdom of Peter Paul Navarro was formally recognised by Pope Pius IX, who beatified him on May 7, 1867, together with a large company of martyrs of Japan put to death during the persecutions of the seventeenth century.[1][2] His companions in death — the catechists Peter Onizuka and Denis Fujishima and his servant Clement Yuemon — were beatified with him.[2] He has not been formally canonized.
Feast day
November 01 (also commemorated among the martyrs of Japan)
Veneration
Blessed Peter Paul Navarro is venerated among the Martyrs of Japan and is honoured especially by the Society of Jesus, in whose ranks he laboured and died. He is remembered for his long and self-effacing apostolate, his mastery of the language and customs of the people he served, and his constancy in the fire. In art he is shown in the Jesuit habit with the palm of martyrdom and the flames of the stake. His feast is kept on November 1, the day of his death.[1][2][3]
Prayers
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Intercessory
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External links
- CatholicSaints.Info – Blessed Peter Paul Navarro
- The Society of Jesus – Blessed Pietro Paolo Navarra
- AnaStpaul – Blessed Peter Paul Navarra SJ, Martyr
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Blessed Peter Paul Navarro," CatholicSaints.Info.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 "Blessed Peter Paul Navarra SJ (1560–1622) Martyr," AnaStpaul – Saint of the Day.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Blessed Pietro Paolo Navarra," The Society of Jesus (jesuits.global).