Decrees

From the Congregation of the Causes of Saints:

MIRACLES

- Blessed Alfonsa of the Immaculate Conception (nee: Anna Muttathupandathu), Indian professed sister of the Congregation of Poor Clares of the Third Order of St. Francis (1910-1946).

- Blessed Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran, Ecuadorian lay woman (1833-1869).

- Servant of God Antonio Rosmini, Italian priest and founder of the Institute of Charity and of the Sisters of Providence (1791-1855).

- Servant of God Mary Merkert, Polish religious, co-foundress and first superior general of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Elizabeth (1817- 1872).

- Servant of God Josepha (nee Hendrina Stenmanns), German religious and co- foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (1852-1903).

- Servant of God Celestina of the Mother of God (nee Maria Anna Donati), Italian foundress of the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of St. Joseph Calasanzio (1848-1925).

MARTYRDOM

- Servants of God Peter Kibe Kasui, Japanese priest of the Company of Jesus and 187 companions (priests, religious and laity), killed in Japan between 1603 and 1639.

- Servants of God Avelino Rodriguez Alonso, Spanish priest of the Order of St. Augustine, 97 companions of the same order and six companions of the diocesan clergy, killed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.

- Servants of God Manuela of the Heart of Jesus (nee Manuela Arriola Uranga) and 22 companions of the Institute of Handmaidens Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament and of Charity, killed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.

- Servant of God Frank Jagerstatter, Austrian layman, born 1907 and killed in Berlin, Germany in 1943.

HEROIC VIRTUES

- Servant of God Giovanni Battista Arista, Italian bishop of Acireale and member of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri (1863-1920).

- Servant of God Jean-Joseph (ne Alcide Lataste), French priest of the Order of Friars Preachers and founder of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Dominic of Betania (1832-1869).

- Servant of God Francesco Maria Perez, Italian professed religious of the Congregation of the Poor Servants of Divine Providence (1861-1937).

- Servant of God Maria Caterina of the Child Jesus (nee Luisa Lavizzari), prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and of Perpetual Reparation in the convent of Ronco di Ghiffa (1867-1931).

- Servant of God Maria Fedele (nee Eleonora Margarita Weiss), German professed religious of the Third Order of St. Francis in the convent of Reutberg (1882- 1923).

- Servant of God Armida Barelli, Italian of the Third Secular Order of St. Francis and co-foundress of the Institute of Missionary Sisters of the Regality of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1882-1952).

- Servant of God Cleonilde Guerra, Italian lay woman

Comments

[Julia]

It is still overwhelmingly nuns and priests - particularly founders of orders. I guess it is to be expected because there has to be some pushing to get this done and religious orders can put somebody on the job full time. Us lay people are busy doing dishes, changing diapers and tires, and making a living.

Wasn't this supposed to change?

[Maureen]

Before his return to Japan and martyrdom, Fr. Petoro Kibe Kasui was the first Japanese man to visit the Holy Land. He also visited Rome.

The Bulletin of Portuguese/Japanese Studies includes info on him on page 68 of an article (PDF file):

"Pedro Kasui, a native of Urube (Bungo) was the son of Romao Kibe, an important functionary of Otomo Yoshishige, and Maria Hata. He left for Macao in November 1614 and from there proceeded to India, Persia, and Palestine. He was ordained as a priest in the Eternal City on the 15th November 1620, and shortly thereafter entered the Society of Jesus. He later returned to Macao, arriving in that city in 1625. He worked in Siam in 1627, visited Manila and returned to Japan in 1630. He was martyred in Edo [Tokyo] in 1639."

If somebody reads German, there's a footnote about an article by Hubert Cieslik, SJ, "P. Pedro Kasui (1587-1639), der letzte japanische Jesuit der Tokugawa-Zeit", Monumenta Nipponica, no. 15, 1960, pp. 35-86.

Statue of Fr. Kasui in Japan

A page about him and other Japanese Christians, which notes that his hometown hosts a festival in his honor every year. This page says he was a bishop?

[Maureen]

The 188 martyrs will be beatified this autumn in Nagasaki, according to this Japanese bishop (.doc format). It notes the Great Nagasaki Martyrdom, the Great Kyoto Martyrdom, the Great Edo Martyrdom (burned at the stake), the Kyoto people martyred by the Kamo River, and many others.

"Firstly, the places in which they were martyred are to be found all over the country, in Tohoku, Kanto, Kansai, Chugoku, and Kyushu. Secondly, the group includes people from all walks of life: lay Christians, religious, priests, townspeople, farmers, warriors, etc. Thirdly, the martyrs were of all ages, from children to the elderly, of both sexes, and included physically handicapped as well as able-bodied people... among those who gave their lives were twelve small children, including infants...."

Wikipedia has more on Kibe; they spelled his middle name differently. (Pretty significant difference in transliterating Japanese.) Among other things, they note a Fr. Kibe Memorial Park in Kunimi-town.

The novelist Endo has an article up (PDF format) which includes info on Kibe on p. 7.

I haven't found anything in the Japanese newspapers that hasn't expired. Probably there'll be more at beatification time.

[Maureen]

Sorry about all this posting...

One of the four priests among the 188 is the Augustinian Fr. Thomas Kintsuba ("Golden Hilt") Jihyoe. He was one of those underground priests who are good at disguises and slipped through Japan for years doing ministry without being caught. The Japanese government usually made do with sending out descriptions of wanted criminals, but they actually drew Japan's first wanted poster to catch him!

He was finally caught by bad luck as just a normal Christian shlub, but revealed his identity (a kindness to the soldiers who caught him, and thus got the reward). He then spent the next few months getting tortured and talked to by an apostate Christian, because the regime was desperate to tell people that this hero had renounced his faith. He was martyred in 1637.

Also, there's apparently a Jacobean English (or rather, Irish) schoolkid drama of some sort called Titus: The Palme of Christian Courage, which is the story of a fictional Japanese Christian. It features an apparition by St. Francis Xavier, who hadn't been dead very long or canonized at that point.