Jerome de Angelis (1567 – 4 December 1623) was an Italian Jesuit missionary to Japan. He 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 ...

in 1867.

Life

He was born Girolamo degli Angeli at Castro-Giovanni, Sicily. Woods, Joseph. "Girolamo degli Angeli." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 24 April 2020 He studied law in Palermo before entering the Society of Jesus at Messina in 1586. He was assigned to the Japanese mission and left Lisbon in April 1596, in company with 7 other Jesuits destined for Japan. Storms disrupted his journey and took him to Brazil, Puerto Rico and England (after being captured by an English ship). He and Charles Spinola spent 2 months together in England before getting back to Lisbon in January 1598. He set out again in 1599 with Charles Spinola and three others, bound for the College in Goa, to complete his studies in anticipation of ordination. Degli Angelis arrived in Nagasaki in 1602 and worked in the area of what is now Tokyo. He remained there after the publication of the edict expelling all Christian missionaries from the country in 1614. In 1618, the first European on

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

, he was the first missionary to reach

Yezo (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the lands to the north of the Japanese island of Honshu. It included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 18 ...

and the Ainu people. De Angelis, after making many converts to Christianity, seeing that his neophytes were cruelly persecuted because of his presence among them and his preaching, gave himself up to the authorities in 1623. Condemned to death, he underwent public execution by fire.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Angelis, Jerome De 1567 births 1623 deaths 16th-century Italian Jesuits 17th-century Italian Jesuits Italian Roman Catholic missionaries Italian beatified people 17th-century venerated Christians 17th-century executions by Japan People executed by Japan by burning Italian people executed abroad Jesuit missionaries in Japan Italian expatriates in Japan 17th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Jesuit martyrs