The 188 Martyrs of Japan (1603-1639) were lay people and religious priests who were killed because they believed in the Prince of Peace. They were beatified on Nov. 24, 2008, by Pope Benedict XVI.

Barely forty years after St Francis Xavier planted the faith in Japan, the young church in those islands witnessed to the faith with martyrdom. We remember today the ‘Twenty-six Martyrs of Nagasaki’, ...

At the conclusion of his address at the monument, the Pope stopped briefly inside the Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum, considered the most prominent museum on Christianity in Japan.

Oura Church, also known by its official name, Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan, was built in honor of those who were killed. Since its construction, it has received several honors, ...

The "Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan" are works by Christian artist Seikyo Okayama (1895-1977). They show a group of Christians crucified in Nagasaki in 1597.

Nagasaki's Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan, also known as Oura Church, commemorates the 20 Japanese and six foreign-born Christians martyred for their faith in 1597 after Japanese ...

On the Feast of the Franciscan Martyrs of Japan, Daniel P. Horan, ... was among twenty-six religious and lay missionaries who were sentenced to death by the Emperor of Japan in 1597.

Places of major importance for Japanese Christianity, including the Nagasaki basilica commemorating 26 Catholic martyrs, have been selected as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Pope Francis is in Japan for the final leg of a six-day trip to Asia, which began in Thailand. He will also go to Hiroshima before spending his final day and a half in Tokyo.