Blessed John Baptist Zola

John Baptist Zola Zola (1575-1626) served as a missionary in India before moving to Japan in 1606. A native of Italy, he established a mission at Takaku that served as a base for his missionary activity to neighboring islands, a ministry he carried on for 20 years. He even managed to visit fellow Jesuits in prison when they had been arrested after the Great Persecution began. Finally he and his catechist, Vicente Caun, were captured in December 1625. The two were imprisoned along with the veteran missionary, Father Francisco Pacheco. For more details about their martyrdom, see the story listed under Pacheco’s name.

Martyres in Japan

Originally Collected and edited by: Tom Rochford, SJ