Today in Japan, beatification ceremonies took place for 188 martyrs who died for the faith in the 17th century.

The harsh persecution of Catholics in the 16th and 17th centuries in Japan, and the Church’s underground survival for the next 250 years, is a fascinating and little-known tale.

Zenit reported here about the Nov. 24 beatifications. A more complete account of the courage and faith of the early Catholic evangelizers of Japan, and about how the faith they transmitted survived until Christians missionaries were allowed back into the country in the 19th century, can be viewed here.

At his noon Angelus prayers yesterday at St. Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict XVI said about the beatifications, “I pledge my spiritual nearness on this occasion, which is so significant for the Catholic community, and for the whole country of the Rising Sun.”

— Tom McFeely