Catholic Church in Japan
Japanese: 日本（にほん）のカトリック教会（きょうかい）
The Tabira Catholic Church, Hirado, Nagasaki
TypeNational polity
ClassificationCatholic
OrientationAsian Christianity, Latin
ScriptureBible
TheologyCatholic theology
GovernanceCatholic Bishops' Conference of Japan
PopePope Francis
CBCJ PresidentTarcisio Isao Kikuchi, Archbishop of Tokyo
Apostolic NuncioLeo Boccardi
RegionJapan
Language
HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
SeparationsProtestantism in Japan
Members431,100 (2021)
Places of worship957
Tertiary institutionsSophia University, Nanzan University, Elisabeth University of Music
Official websitecbcj.catholic.jp

The Catholic Church in Japan is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. As of 2021, there were approximately 431,100 Catholics in Japan (0.34% of the total population), 6,200 of whom are clerics, religious and seminarians.[1] Japan has 15 dioceses, including three metropolitan archdioceses, with 34 bishops, 1,235 priests, and 40 deacons[2] spread out across 957 churches (parishes, quasi-parishes, mission stations, and assembly centres).[3]

The bishops of the dioceses form the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan, the episcopal conference of the nation. The main liturgical rites employed in Japan are those of the Latin Church.

The current apostolic nuncio, who serves as the Holy See's diplomatic ambassador and delegate to the local church in Japan, is Archbishop Leo Boccardi.[4]

Christianity was introduced to Japan by the Jesuits, such as the Spaniard St. Francis Xavier and the Italian Alessandro Valignano. Portuguese Catholics founded the port of Nagasaki, considered at its founding to be an important Christian center in the Far East, though this distinction is now obsolete. There is a modern Japanese translation of the whole Bible by Federico Barbaro, an Italian missionary. Nowadays, many Japanese Catholics are ethnic Japanese from Brazil and Peru and naturalized Filipino Japanese.

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, a personal ordinariate within the Catholic Church originally created as a means for Anglicans to enter communion with Rome while maintaining their patrimony, has also begun to form in Japan. As of 2015, it has two congregations.[5]

History

Organisation

St. Mary's Cathedral in Tokyo, which serves as the see of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tokyo

Governance

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan is the Japanese episcopal conference, which serves as the main decision-making body of the Church in Japan. The current President of the CBCJ is Isao Kikuchi.[7]

The Catholic Church in Japan is divided into three ecclesiastical provinces with a total of 15 dioceses, three of which are metropolitan archdioceses. Japan has no military ordinariate compared with its neighbour South Korea. However, it does share a personal ordinariate with two other countries, Australia and the Philippines.

Ecclesiastical territories

The Catholic Church in Japan is organised into 15 dioceses, 3 of which are classified as metropolitan dioceses that head each of the 3 ecclesiastical provinces in the country.

Map of the ecclesiastical provinces and dioceses of Japan (Japanese).

Dioceses by region

Ecclesiastical Province of Nagasaki

Ecclesiastical Province of Osaka

Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan (Nagasaki)

Ecclesiastical Province of Tokyo

Personal Ordinariate

Catholic education in Japan

The Catholic Church is involved in religious education in Japan, providing learning opportunities to both Catholic and non-Catholic students. According to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan, Japan has a total of 828 Catholic educational institutions. The Church operates different types of schools, which can be seen below:[8]

Catholic Schools in Japan by Kind
School type Number of schools
Kindergartens 515
Primary schools 53
Middle and high schools 217
Colleges and universities 32
Colleges of technology 1
Vocational colleges 4
Schools for special needs education 1
Miscellaneous schools 5
Sophia University Yotsuya Campus in Tokyo, Japan.

The Jesuit Sophia University in Chiyoda, Tokyo is listed in the Times Higher Education and QS Global University rankings, and is considered one of the top private universities in Japan.[9][10] It is one of 37 universities selected by the Japanese Government to participate in the Top Global University Project and receive financial assistance to boost globalisation in Japan and foster research.[11]

Other Catholic universities in Japan include Nanzan University (Nagoya, Aichi) and the Elisabeth University of Music (Hiroshima, Hiroshima).

Martyrs and canonised saints

Statue of St Paul Miki, who is a member of the Twenty-Six Martyrs of Japan, in St Martin's Church in Bamberg, Germany.

Founded in 1986, the Committee for Promoting Canonisation, which is directly affiliated with the Standing Committee of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan, is responsible for promoting Japan's canonisation efforts and recognition of its martyrs. Its main objectives are to support local dioceses in promoting cases for canonisation, support canonisation promoted by the Conference, and promotion devotions to Japanese Catholic martyrs.

All Catholic martyrs in Japan, both native Japanese and foreign missionaries, were persecuted and killed during the Sakoku period of Japanese isolationism. Some of the groups of martyrs and individual martyrs were later canonised and venerated as saints in the Church's liturgical calendar.

Canonised saints

Martyrs

Martyrs Date Description Beatified Canonised Feast day
Twenty-Six Martyrs of Japan (also known as St. Paul Miki and Companions) 1597 First group of Catholic martyrs in Japan. Executed by crucifixion in Nagasaki on 5 February 1597. 14 September 1627 by Pope Urban VIII 8 June 1862 by Pope Pius IX 6 February
205 Martyrs of Japan 1598 - 1632 205 missionaries and Hidden Christians who were persecuted and executed in a period of 20 years for their faith. 7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX 10 September
Augustinian Recollects Martyrs 1632 Two missionary Augustinian Recollects who left the Philippines to evangelise the Japanese. They fled into the mountains to escape persecution but were later arrested and killed when they descended into the city. Martyred in Nagasaki on 11 December 1632. 23 April 1989 by Pope John Paul II 11 December
Sixteen Martyrs of Japan 1633 - 1637 16 Hidden Christians who were martyred for their faith from 1633 to 1637. 18 February 1981 by Pope John Paul II 18 October 1987 by Pope John Paul II 28 September
188 Martyrs of Japan[12] 1603 -1639 Additional priests and Catholics who were persecuted and martyred from 1603 to 1639. 24 November 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI

Worship

There are some minor differences between the mass in Japan and the mass in other countries. For example, before Communion, most languages quote from the centurion of Matthew 8 ("Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed"). In Japanese, however, the saying is 「主よ、あなたは神の子キリスト、永遠の命の糧、あなたをおいてだれのところへ行きましょう」 (Rōmaji : shu yo, anata wa kami no ko Kirisuto, eien no inochi no kate, anata o oite dare no tokoro e ikimashō; English: "Lord, you are the Christ, the Son of God, the bread of eternal life, to whom shall I leave thee?"),[13] taken from quotes of Simon Peter in John 6 and Matthew 16.

Papal visits

See also

References

  1. ↑ Statistics of the Catholic Church in Japan. "Catholics in Japan", p. 1. Tokyo: Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan. Retrieved fromhttps://www.cbcj.catholic.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/statistics2021.pdf.
  2. ↑ Statistics of the Catholic Church in Japan. "Clergy", p. 5. Tokyo: Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan. Retrieved from https://www.cbcj.catholic.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/statistics2021.pdf.
  3. ↑ "Facilities" (PDF). Statistics of the Catholic Church in Japan. Tokyo: Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan. August 2022. p. 2.
  4. ↑ "Japan (Nunciature) [Catholic-Hierarchy]".
  5. ↑ "Ordinariate Community of St. Augustine of Canterbury". Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  6. ↑ Röpke, Ian (1999). Historical Dictionary of Osaka and Kyoto. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-3622-8.
  7. ↑ "Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan (CBCJ)". Retrieved from https://www.cbcj.catholic.jp/english/japan/comt/.
  8. ↑ Statistics of the Catholic Church in Japan: Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2021. "Facilities", p. 4. Tokyo: Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan. Retrieved from https://www.cbcj.catholic.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/statistics2021.pdf.
  9. ↑ "Sophia University". Times Higher Education (THE). 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  10. ↑ "Sophia University". Top Universities. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  11. ↑ "Initiatives｜Top Global University Project". tgu.mext.go.jp. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  12. ↑ "Japan (3)". 2021-06-09. Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  13. ↑ "年間第21主日ミサ・説教「主よ、あなたをおいて…」" [Annual 21st Sunday Mass/Sermon "Lord, leave you..."]. カトリック成城教会 | Seijo Catholic Church (in Japanese). August 21, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Pope John Paul II in Japan, 1981 - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va. 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  15. ↑ Ivana Kottasová, Maija Ehlinger and Yoko Wakatsuki (23 November 2019). "Pope Francis lands in Japan for the first papal visit in decades". CNN. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
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