Photo courtesy of Father Francis Nakagawa

Hawaii’s Marianist Father Francis Nakagawa, with lei, joins 500 other priests celebrating the beatification.

 Beatification rite

The beatification began after the Mass’ Penitential Rite. Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, the personal representative of Pope Benedict XVI, read the pope’s apostolic letter proclaiming the beatification of Father Peter Kibe and 187 martyrs of Japan. At that moment, the large white cloth center-stage behind the altar came down, revealing a composite painting of the martyrs.

One hundred and 88 doves were released, one for each of the beatified. They flew over the stadium to the delight of all.

Bishop Francis Misobe, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Japan, in fluent Italian, expressed words of gratitude to the Holy Father which were then translated into Japanese.

In the homily that followed, Cardinal Peter Shirayanagi of Tokyo, dean of Japan’s 16 bishops, traced the history and valor of Japan’s 188 new “blesseds,” beginning with the arrival of St. Francis Xavier in 1549 to the persecution of Christians under Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Tokugawas.

The cardinal described the martyrs: They came from many different parts of Japan; there were 183 laity, four priests and one religious; 121 men and 67 women, the oldest was 80 years old and the youngest a year-old infant, nine children from one to four; high ranking officials and ordinary people and farmers; whole families of father, mother and children; and persons with handicaps. They died in the years 1603 to 1639.

He said, “The history of persecution in Japan stood out because of its long duration and its exhaustive and cruel manner of repression” not experienced elsewhere in the world.

Cardinal Shirayanagi said this new list of beatified martyrs provides the present generation of Catholics in Japan fresh dynamic models of faith, courage, and perseverance. He concluded, “The martyrs make a strong appeal to us so that our church, our community of faith, be a powerful witness of God’s love. Let us journey together unafraid. The martyrs are telling us not to be afraid. God is telling us not to be afraid.”

The beatification Mass lasted close to four hours. Add to that two hours of waiting, and it turned out to be a long day. But as one of our pilgrimage members Irene Tabata said, “It was such an inspiring experience to be right here for all of it. I am so happy I made the pilgrimage and this day!”

Martyrs of Tokyo

Our pilgrimage started in Tokyo on Nov. 18 with a visit to the Tokyo Cathedral of St. Mary’s, famous for its parabolic wall, designed by Japan’s noted Kenzo Tange, who had also designed the World Trade Center in New York City. The church holds a relic of St. Francis Xavier.

We visited the Kohinata area where Blessed Peter Kibe was incarcerated in his last days. The site is still called Martyrs’ Slope. There had been executions at the very house we visited.

We celebrated Mass at the Takanawa Church of the Martyrs in Shinagawa, the site of the Great Martyrdom of the Edo Period on Dec. 4, 1623. We also visited Asakusa Catholic Church, built on the persecution’s execution site.

Snow in Akita

After two days in Tokyo, we flew north to Akita for a half-day of recollection at the Monastery of the Sisters of the Handmaids of the Eucharist. In the unique church built in the style of a traditional Japanese temple, we celebrated Mass with the sisters. We prayed the rosary in the adjoining chapel of Our Lady of Akita, which holds the wooden statue that miraculously shed human tears 101 times in the 1970s.

The sisters treated us warmly and even provided gloves and shawls as we made the Stations of the Cross in the snow-covered Garden of the Lamb. One of our members, Hiroko Louis from Kauai, said she had prayed for snow. Sure enough, it snowed. The temperature was freezing, but she was very happy!

Martyrs of Kyoto

We then flew to Kyoto for two nights. We followed the steps of two groups of martyrs. The “26 Martyrs of Nagasaki” were arrested (24 of them) in Kyoto in the area then known as “Deus-Cho” or God’s Village. We visited the Francis House and its museum and chapel, maintained by the Franciscan friars. It sits in the area of Deus-Cho.

We followed the path of the victims as they were paraded through the city to the Nishjin Church area, where their left ears were cut off as a sign of their eventual death. The victims were forced on a month-long march in mid-winter to Nagasaki, where they were executed on Feb. 5, 1597.

In Kyoto we were fortunate to attend a special Mass in the cathedral celebrated by Cardinal Martins, Bishop Paul Otsuka of Kyoto and 20 priests. The packed church with beautiful singing was an emotional experience.

Kyoto is also remembered for the 52 Martyrs of the Great Kyoto Persecution of Oct. 6, 1619. Noteworthy is the martyrdom by fire of the Hashimoto family — mother, father and five children — all burned at the stake for their faith. We visited the stone monument at the site of their execution near the bank of the Kamo River which runs through Kyoto.

Because it was peak maple-viewing season, we had to see Tofukuji and Ryoanji Temples, both renowned for their beautiful autumn foliage. It’s a sight unfamiliar to people from Hawaii — the red and gold leaves and the mass of people to admire them.

Martyrs of Nagasaki

Our next and final flight took us to Nagasaki, famous for its culture and history as well as for its Catholic history.

So we visited the Shrine of the 26 Martyrs on the Hill of Martyrs called Nishizaka. There is also the Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the famous Polish Franciscan who gave his life in the place of a fellow prisoner at Auschwitz during World War II. Father Kolbe had worked in Japan where he founded the Monastery of the Knights of Mary Immaculate, which thrives to this day.

Also there was the tiny house and center of Dr. Takeshi Nagai, the famous atomic bomb victim who became a Catholic, wrote many books and is revered as the Saint of Urakami, the epicenter of the bomb, which fell on Aug. 9, 1945.

Three experiences

Our visit to Nagasaki gave us three memorable experiences. The first was a visit to the Municipal Art Museum where a special exhibition of treasures of the Vatican commemorated the beatification. The prize exhibit was a painting of the Madonna by Fra Angelico.

The second was a beatification concert in the Brick Music Hall of string and wind quartettes, choral singing, and opera arias. The concert tickets were provided by Father Chitoshi Noshita, the pastor of Nakamachi Catholic Church who is also a frequent visitor to Hawaii for the Pearl Harbor Memorial Observance every December.

Father Noshita also gave us the important IDs needed to enter the stadium for the beatification.

Father Noshita was also responsible for our third memorable experience — a fancy lunch at a hill-top hotel restaurant with Archbishop Joseph Takami of Nagasaki. Who would have imagined such an honor! The lunch was the traditional Japanese “Kaiseki” meal. In gratitude, we sang and danced the “Hukilau Song.” And, would you believe it, he joined in!

Beyond Nagasaki

There is just a little more to our pilgrimage tour.

As we left Nagasaki through Sasebo, we visited the Endo Shusaku Memorial Center along the seacoast. Endo is Japan’s most famous writer of novels and essays. A Catholic, he has often been compared to Graham Green. His famous novel “Silence” (Chinmoku) is about the Christian persecution. The locale for his book is the very region where the center is located, chosen specifically by the author. The view of the setting sun from there is especially beautiful.

Our final destination in the Nagasaki Prefecture was the St. Francis Xavier Memorial Church in Hirado where we celebrated Mass. To get to it, we had to walk up a steep hill of steps. The church stands at the top overlooking Hirado Harbor. On an opposite hill sits Hirado Castle. St. Francis Xavier had been to Hirado three times from 1539 to 1551.

Fukuoka finale

After a two-hour bus ride, we arrived in Fukuoka City for one night and then the return flight to Hawaii via Nagoya and Narita.

On our final morning, we took the subway to the center of town to Daimyo Catholic Church for our final Mass in Japan. It was Nov. 27, Thanksgiving Day in Japan, a fitting day to thank God for all the blessings and memories of our beatification pilgrimage tour.

We would be back in Hawaii on the 27th for another Thanksgiving Day.