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In a letter home to Portuguese brethren, Jesuit missionary Pedro de Alcacova writes of singing a Mass to Japanese believers in 1552: "Our voices weren't good," he recalls, "still the Christian believers rejoiced." It was Christmas Eve in Yamaguchi, and the patience, if not faith, ...
Japan's 'Christian century' failed to blossom
Christmas approaches. Christian or not, the mind turns to Christian themes. What are the Christian themes? Love. Forgiveness. Meekness. Turn the other cheek. The kingdom of heaven. Once upon a time Japan almost turned Christian. In 1549, a Basque missionary named Francis Xavier became the first ...
Christian missionaries find Japan a tough nut to crack
My local supermarket plays Christmas music. Yours probably does too. My neighbors have Christmas trees. So do yours, no doubt. At this time of year, in the major cities if not nationwide, you might almost think you were in a Christian country. You're not, of ...
Once-in-a-decade public display of St. Francis Xavier relics begins in India
A public display of relics tied to St. Francis Xavier, the Jesuit missionary who exported Christianity to Japan in the 16th century, began Saturday in Old Goa, a historic city in the former Portuguese colony that is now part of India. The relics will be ...
The government's announcement of its intention to make Christian sites in Nagasaki its official candidate for UNESCO World Heritage status in 2016 spotlights a side of Japanese history that many around the world have little awareness of.
