An embassy to heaven

By Orlando Fedeli - Upon hearing that his peace embassy was massacred the Governor ordered the church bells to be ringed festively, because God had deemed it so worthy that He summoned it to heaven

Nov 11, 2022

Priests who left everything and undertook a journey towards certain death, eager to give their blood for Our Lord Jesus Christ.

This happened in 16th century Japan.

Saint Francis Xavier, preaching in the east (The miracles of St. Francis Xavier by Peter Paul Rubens)

The apostolic action of Saint Francis Xavier throughout the East was very fruitful. In Japan especially, the fruits of his apostolate are reminiscent of the works of the Apostle St. Paul, as they are recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. Millions of Japanese were baptized and it was even believed, without exaggerated optimism, that the entire Empire of the Rising Sun would sincerely adhere to Catholicism.

This the devil could not allow. Aroused by a diabolical breath, the bloodiest persecution was unleashed. Every Westerner — and particularly every priest — who arrived in the Japanese islands was immediately murdered.

Paradoxically, instead of scaring away the missionary priests by terror, the possibility of dying for Christ aroused so much zeal that, in the Portuguese colonies of the East, it was necessary to prohibit the departure of priests to Japan, since so many went, so many died.

Neither decrees nor human prudence could curb the thirst for martyrdom. At night, on the beaches, it was necessary to place soldiers on guard to prevent the priests from leaving... to heaven.

Seeing that there was no way to contain the ardor of the priests, the Governor of Malacca decided to send an embassy to the Shogun, to see if it was possible to obtain some concession that would prevent the death of so many Christians and so many ministers of God.

And there went the caravel of hope...

When it reached the Japanese islands, immediately all but one on crew member were killed. A survivor was left so that he could take the news of the massacre to Malacca.

Upon hearing the news of what had happened, the Governor of Malacca ordered the church bells to be ringed festively, because Portugal had sent an embassy to Japan, and God had deemed it so worthy that He had summoned it to heaven.

Today, the apostolic spirit of these priests will perhaps be considered imprudent by the moderates of the lukewarm century in which we live...

Certainly, in our day, it is no longer necessary to issue edicts against “reckless” zeal. “Prudence”, “balance”, “moderation” — the three great “virtues” of the lukewarm — are those that, nowadays, Catholics claim to have above all else. On the beaches today, instead of priests eager to leave Malacca towards death, priests carry out the “pastoral of tourism”.

Swimming shorts and whiskey at hand and the girls in bikinis. 1