2024-02-06 00:00:00
Upon arriving in Nagasaki, his captors prepared everything for the execution. The lay people in the group were able to confess with the priests, and the priests with each other. When the executioners were ready, the bloody ritual began. Then, in his agony, Saint Paul Miki began his last sermon: “I declare to you, brothers, that the best way to achieve salvation is to belong to the Christian religion, to be Catholic.”
A Golgotha in Japan
Witnesses to the martyrdom recognized the fervor and serenity of those men, among whom there were some very young. The priests encouraged others to suffer for the love of Jesus Christ and the salvation of souls. The prayers to the Lord and the Virgin Mary continued for a long time, as well as the harangues and the invocation to those who were present to embrace Christianity.
“My Lord Jesus Christ taught me with his word and his good example to forgive those who have offended us. “I declare that I forgive the head of the nation who gave the order to crucify us, and all those who have contributed to our martyrdom, and I recommend that I hope they get instructed in our holy religion and get baptized,” Miki shouted.
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