Paul Miki was born into a wealthy Japanese family. He was educated by the
Jesuits in
Azuchi and
Takatsuki. He joined the
Society of Jesus and became a well known and successful preacher – gaining numerous converts to Catholicism. The ruler of Japan,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, began persecuting Catholics for fear of the Jesuits' influence and intentions, and possibly that of
European visitors. Miki was arrested and jailed with his fellow
Catholics, who were later forced to march 966 kilometers (600 miles) from
Kyoto to
Nagasaki; all the while singing the
Te Deum. On arriving in Nagasaki – which today has the largest Catholic population in Japan – Miki had his chest pierced with a lance while tied to a cross on 5 February 1597. Crucified alongside him were Joan Soan (de Gotó) and Santiago Kisai, also of the Society of Jesus; along with twenty-three other clergy and
laity, all of whom were
canonized by
Pope Pius IX in 1862. == See also ==