Saint John de Gotó

John de Gotó (Joannes Soan, 1578-1597) was one of the first Jesuit martyrs in Japan. He was born of Christian parents on one of the islands of the Goto archipelago, but moved to Nagasaki to have freedom to practice his religion after authorities on the island began persecuting Christians. He was living in the Jesuit community in Osaka and working as a catechist while attempting to join the Society. He was arrested on Dec. 9 along with Paul Miki and James Kisai and then taken to Miyako (today's Kyoto) where they were imprisoned along with six Franciscans and 15 tertiaries. For full details of his story, see the entry for Paul Miki.

Martyres in Japan

Originally Collected and edited by: Tom Rochford, SJ