Marcello Francesco Mastrilli (1603 – October 17, 1637) was an Italian Jesuit missionary who was martyred in Japan on

Mount Unzen is an active volcanic group of several overlapping stratovolcanoes, near the city of Shimabara, Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island. In 1792, the collapse of one of its several lava domes triggered a megatsunam ...

during the

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

, which had banned

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in 1614. After sailing for Japan out to find and possibly reconvert the notorious apostate

Cristóvão Ferreira 170px, Ferreira was interred in the gravesite of his son-in-law Sugimoto Chūkei's family. Cristóvão Ferreira (c. 1580–1650) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and Jesuit missionary who committed apostasy after being captured and tortured ...

, who went to Japan and renounced his faith there, he was arrested as soon as he got off his ship. After three days of torture in the pit of

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...

, he was beheaded. A painting of his death, ''Martyrdom of Saint Marcello Mastrilli'' (1664), was made by Antonio Maria Vassallo. Susceptible to visions, he was particularly influenced by visitations by the Jesuit missionary St. Francis Xavier, who appeared to him twice in 1633, and foretold him his martyrdom. St. Frances Xavier is credited with twice miraculously restoring Mastrilli's health (even if only to incite him to do missionary work in Japan), and since the account reportedly spread quickly through Italy, the "

novena of grace The Novena of Grace is a Catholic devotion in honor of Saint Francis Xavier. It is usually performed from March 4 to March 12. History In Naples in 1633, Fr. Marcello Mastrilli, S.J. took a vow asking to be assigned Japan during the Buddhist ...

," in honor of St. Francis Xavier, was established. Mastrilli's initiative is supposedly to thank for the presence of a silver casket in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in

Old Goa Old Goa ( Konkani: ; pt, Velha Goa, translation='Old Goa') is a historical site and city situated on the southern banks of the River Mandovi, within the Tiswadi ''taluka'' (''Ilhas'') of North Goa district, in the Indian state of Goa. Th ...

, which houses

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

of the body of St. Francis Xavier.

References

1603 births 1637 deaths 17th-century Italian Jesuits 17th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Italian Roman Catholic missionaries Jesuit missionaries in Japan Italian people murdered abroad People murdered in Japan Italian expatriates in Japan Italian torture victims Deaths by decapitation {{Italy-reli-bio-stub