Miguel de Carvalho, SJ also known as Michael Carvalho, (1579 – 25 August 1624) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. He was beatified in July 1867 by Pope

Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

.Fros SJ, Henryk ''Book of names and saints'', pp. 423–437, 2007 Molinari SJ, Paolo. "Martiri dichiarati Santi della Compagnia di Gesu", Roman Curia Pontifical Academies
/ref>

Biography

Miguel was born in

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

, in 1579, to a noble and wealthy family.Leite SJ, José. "Beato Miguel de Carvalho", Evangelizo, 2015-06-13
/ref> In 1597, he joined the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

.Borrelli, Antonio "Blessed Michael Carvalho, Jesuit martyr", 2005-02-22
/ref>"Blessed Mikael Carvalho 1579–1624", 2015-06-13
/ref> In 1602, he studied in Portuguese India.Rochford SJ, Tom "Blessed Miguel Carvalho", Society of Jesus, 2015
/ref> After completing his studies of philosophy and theology at St. Paul's College in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, he was ordained to the priesthood. For several years, his vocation was a professor of theology at the Academy On 21 August 1621, he arrived in Japan, after traveling from Portuguese India through

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

, and

Portuguese Macau Portuguese Macau (officially the Province of Macau until 1976, and then the Autonomous Region of Macau from 1976 to 1999) was a Portuguese colony that existed from the first official Portuguese settlement in 1557 to the end of colonial ru ...

.Fros SJ, Henryk "Saints and Blessed of the Society of Jesus", Kraków: Wydawnictwo Apostolstwa Modlitwy, pp. 108–9, 1992, The situation in Japan was resulting in measures aimed at reducing the impact of the growing number of Catholics in social life. After a period of intense missionary activity by the Catholic Church, Hidetada Tokugawa, the second ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamak ...

'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, issued a decree which banned the practice and teaching of the Christian faith, and under the threat of loss of life, all the missionaries had to leave Japan. This decree started the bloody persecution of Christians, which lasted several decades. On

Amakusa , which means "Heaven's Grass," is a series of islands off the west coast of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan. Geography The largest island of the Amakusa group is Shimoshima, which is 26.5 miles long and 13.5 mi ...

, Carvalho hid in plain view, disguised as a soldier for two years, where he assimilated the Japanese language and principles of

inculturation In Christianity, inculturation is the adaptation of Christian teachings and practices to cultures. This is a term that is generally used by Catholics, whereas Protestants, especially associated with the World Council of Churches, prefer to use th ...

. When the local governor openly confessed that Carvalho was a missionary, and the actual purpose of his stay was to preach and

convert Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

the locals to Christianity, he was expelled from the island. With the help of fellow believers, he went to

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 ...

, where the Jesuit Provincial, Francisco Pacheco advised him to remain prudent in the implementation of the apostolate and directed him to care for a small group living in a suburban area. On 22 July 1623, as he returned from the pastoral ministry in Ōmura, Carvalho was arrested due to an accusation from an informant. In the local prison, he joined Pedro Vásquez,

Luis Sotelo Luis Sotelo, in English known also as Louis Sotelo, (September 6, 1574 – August 25, 1624) was a Franciscan friar from Spain who died as a martyr in Japan, in 1624, and was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1867. Early life Luis was born in Sevilla ...

, and two Japanese Franciscans,

Ludovicus Sasada Ludovicus Sasada, also known as Louis Sasada or , (1598 – 25 August 1624) was a Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Priesthood (Catholic Church), Priest from Japan. He was beatified in July 1867 by Pope Pius IX.Fros SJ, Henryk "Book of names ...

and

tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

Ludovicus Baba. Miguel spent his time in captivity with the celebration of daily Mass and prayer. On 24 August, a death sentence was ordered, which was performed the next day in Ōmura. On 25 August 1624, Carvalho and his companions were

burned at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...

Legacy

The steadfastness and joy that he showed convicts in the face of martyrdom for the faith, aroused the admiration of his contemporaries. Carvalho was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

by Pope Pius IX on 7 July 1867. The death of the martyrs is commemorated by an obelisk in Ōmura."放虎原（ﾎｳｺﾊﾞﾙ）殉教地", 2015-06-13
/ref> In the Roman Catholic Church, Carvalho's feast day is celebrated on 25 August, as well as 10 September, the anniversary of the massacre of 205

Japanese martyrs The were Christian missionaries and followers who were persecuted and executed, mostly during the Tokugawa shogunate period in the 17th century. More than 400 martyrs of Japan have been recognized with beatification by the Catholic Church, and 4 ...

in Ōmura, and the Jesuits mention it also 4 February. Carvalho is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the department of philosophy at the

Catholic University of Portugal The Catholic University of Portugal (Portuguese: ''Universidade Católica Portuguesa'', pronounced nivɨɾsiˈðad(ɨ) kɐˈtɔlikɐ puɾtuˈɣezɐ, also referred to as Católica or UCP for short, is a concordat university (non-state-run univers ...

, Braga Campus."Universidade Católica Portuguesa – Faculdade de Filosofia de Braga. História", date = 2017-02-08
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carvalho, Miguel 1577 births 1624 deaths People from Braga 17th-century Portuguese Jesuits Portuguese Roman Catholic missionaries Portuguese beatified people Portuguese Roman Catholic saints Jesuit martyrs Martyred Roman Catholic priests Roman Catholic missionaries in Japan People executed by Japan by burning Portuguese people executed abroad Portuguese expatriates in Japan Jesuit missionaries