Philip of Jesus, OFM (Spanish: Felipe de Jesús) was a
Novohispanic
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the A ...
Franciscan
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
missionary who became one of the
Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan
The were a group of Catholics who were executed by crucifixion on February 5, 1597, in Nagasaki, Japan. Their martyrdom is especially significant in the history of the Catholic Church in Japan.
A promising beginning to Catholic missions in Japa ...
, the first Mexican saint and patron saint of
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
.
[Ronald J. Morgan, ''Spanish American Saints and the Rhetoric of Identity, 1600–1810.'' Tucson: University of Arizona Press 2002, pp. 143-169]
Philip was born in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
in 1572. Though unusually frivolous as a boy, he joined the Reformed
Franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
of the Province of St. Didacus, founded in Mexico by
Peter Baptista, with whom he suffered
martyrdom
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
later. After some months in the Order, Philip grew tired of religious life, left the Franciscans in 1589, took up a mercantile career, and went to the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, another Spanish colony, where he led a life of pleasure. Later he desired to re-enter the Franciscans and was again admitted at
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 ...
in 1590.
[Bihl, Michael. "St. Philip of Jesus." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 28 July 2018
After some years it was determined that he was ready for
ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...
and sent to Mexico for this, since the
episcopal see
See or SEE may refer to:
* Sight - seeing
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Music:
** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals
*** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See''
** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho
* Television
* ...
of Manila was vacant at that time, and thus no
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
was available locally to ordain him. He sailed on the ''
San Felipe'' on 12 July 1596, but a storm drove the vessel upon the coast of Japan. The governor of the province confiscated the ship and imprisoned its crew and passengers, among whom were another Franciscan
friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
, Juan de Zamorra, as well as three other friars, two
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
s and a
Dominican. The discovery of soldiers, cannon and ammunition on the ship led to the suspicion that it was intended for the conquest of Japan, and that the missionaries were merely to prepare the way for the soldiers. This was also said, falsely and unwarrantably, by one of the crew, and it enraged the Japanese
Taikō,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
, generally called
Taicosama by Europeans. In consequence, he commanded on December 8, 1596, the arrest of the Franciscans in the
friary
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
at
Miako, now
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
, whither Philip had gone.
[
The friars were all kept prisoners in the friary until December 30, when they were transferred to the city prison. There were six Franciscan friars, seventeen Japanese Franciscan tertiaries and the Japanese ]Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
Paul Miki, with his two native servants. The ears of the prisoners were cropped
Cropping is the removal of unwanted outer areas from a photographic or illustrated image. The process usually consists of the removal of some of the peripheral areas of an image to remove extraneous trash from the picture, to improve its framin ...
on January 3, 1597, and they were paraded through the streets of Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
; on January 21 they were taken to Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, and thence to Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
, which they reached on February 5, 1597. They were taken to a mountain near Nagasaki city, "Mount of the Martyrs", bound upon crosses, after which they were pierced with spears.[
The bones of Philip were brought to Mexico City in 1598: "Annals of His Time", Chimalpahin.
]
Beatification & Canonization
Philip was beatified in 1627 by Urban VIII, and, with his companions, canonized 8 June, 1862, by Pius IX. He is the patron saint of the city of Mexico.
In Popular Culture
In 1949 a Mexican film ''Philip of Jesus
Philip of Jesus, OFM (Spanish: Felipe de Jesús) was a New Spain, Novohispanic Franciscan Catholic Church, Catholic missionary who became one of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan, the first Mexican saint and patron saint of Mexico City.Ronald J. ...
'' portrayed his life and death. It was directed by Julio Bracho
Julio Bracho Gavilán (17 July 1909 – 26 April 1978) was a Mexican film director and screenwriter.
Bracho was born as ninth of eleven children of Julio Bracho y Zuloaga and his wife Luz Pérez Gavilán. His sister Guadalupe Bracho Pérez- ...
with the actor Ernesto Alonso
Ernesto Alonso (February 28, 1917 – August 7, 2007) was a Mexican producer, director, cinematographer and actor. He was nicknamed "''El Señor Telenovela''" ("Mr. Soap Opera") because most of his work centered on telenovelas known around the w ...
playing Philip.
References
Sources
*
External links
* http://evangelhoquotidiano.org/main.php?language=PT&module=saintfeast&id=12486&fd=0 (In Portuguese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philip
1597 deaths
Reformed Franciscans
Japanese Roman Catholic saints
Mexican Roman Catholic saints
Roman Catholic missionaries in Japan
Mexican Roman Catholic missionaries
Mexican people executed abroad
People executed by crucifixion
26 Martyrs of Japan
16th-century Christian saints
1572 births
People of Spanish colonial Philippines
People of New Spain
Catholic Church in the Philippines
Spanish Roman Catholic priests
16th-century Roman Catholic priests
16th-century Spanish people
Franciscan missionaries
Mexican expatriates in Japan
Franciscan saints