Imagine trying to keep the Catholic faith alive without churches. And no priests.
Which means no Mass. No Confession. No Eucharist.
For more than 250 years, that's exactly what thousands of Japanese Catholics did.
Known as the Kakure Kirishitan, or "Hidden Christians," these faithful men, women, and children practiced their faith in secret after Christianity was brutally persecuted in Japan in the early 1600s. Missionaries were expelled or martyred, churches were destroyed, and Catholics were forced to renounce their faith or face imprisonment, torture, and death.
Many refused, and secretly handed the faith from one generation to the next.
Parents taught their children the prayers from memory. Baptism continued because the Church teaches that, in necessity, anyone may baptize with the proper intention. Families gathered secretly to pray and carefully preserved the essentials of the Catholic faith, trusting that one day priests would return.
More than two centuries later, that hope was finally realized.
In 1865, Fr. Bernard Petitjean had just opened the newly built Church of the Twenty-Six Martyrs in Nagasaki when a small group of Japanese villagers cautiously approached him. As Fr. Petitjean later recounted in a letter describing the encounter, one woman quietly asked where she could find the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Once they were convinced he honored Mary, recognized the Pope in Rome, and was a celibate Catholic priest, they revealed the secret they had guarded for generations:
"Our hearts are the same as yours." (From The Discovery of the Hidden Christians by Bernard Petitjean)
For over 250 years, they had remained faithful.
It's one of the most remarkable stories in Church history. Everything they treasured had been taken away except the faith they carried in their hearts and passed on within their families. Against all odds, it endured.
This story might make us wonder what we would hold onto if everything else were stripped away. Would we know our faith well enough to hand it on to the next generation?
Our Innocence Rosary Bracelet is a simple reminder of that calling. Whether given to a child, grandchild, or loved one, or worn ourselves, it symbolizes the beautiful responsibility each generation has to pass on the gift of faith. Find yours today at The Catholic Company!
