Roman Catholic Diocese of Sapporo
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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sapporo is a diocese belonging to the Roman
Catholic church 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 ...
, under the Papal Primacy of
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
, which is located in Sapporo, Japan. The diocese was formerly established as the Apostolic Prefecture of Sapporo on February 12, 1915. It was later lifted to the title of Apostolic Vicariate of Sapporo on March 30, 1929. Twenty-three years later, it was lifted to its current state, the Diocese of Sapporo, on December 11, 1952. This diocese under the Archdiocese of Tokyo, which is the metropolitan territory governing the Diocese of Sapporo and other diocesan territories, led by its archbishop,
Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi is a Japanese Roman Catholic prelate and professed member from the Divine Word Missionaries who has been serving as Archbishop of Tokyo since his appointment in 2017. He was a former worker in the missions of Ghana in Western Africa. Prior t ...
. The diocesan seat of the bishop of Sapporo is the Guardian Angels Cathedral. The current bishop is Bernard Taiji Katsuya.


History


Foundations

Roman Catholicism was established by
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, led by St. Francis Xavier who was a Jesuit Himself. The establishment of Catholicism by St Francis Xavier happened six years after the discovery of Japan by Portuguese Sailors in 1549. In its earliest stages, approximately 250 years after its foundation in 1549, Catholicism and its Christian Members faced violent persecutions and torture due to the forbidding of Gospel preaching in the country. Christianity in Japan, in general, was initially founded by
Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...
Missionaries, however, it was St Francis Xavier who established Catholicism and had managed to preach the Gospel through the assistance of a Japanese interpreter, which allowed for the rapid spread of Christianity first at the southern region and later reaching the pinnacle of its northern territory. In around 1580, the Catholic convert population had surpassed 200,000 members, although facing much persecution paired with the rejection of foreign missionaries, Priests and Bishops as ordered by the ruling shogun
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 ...
.


Persecution

The persecution period for Christians involved capturing, torturing, and when they remained persistent about being Christians, were killed. Many Christians decided to hide their faith by disguising as members of
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
or
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
ism which were accepted religions in Japan, while practicing Christianity undercover. These Christians were known as hidden Christians, or '' kakure.'' The ''kakure'' developed a system to maintain their liturgical calendar, preach to people outside the faith and conduct liturgies such as baptism and funerals. However, this had to be done without priests or any clergy in general for multiple generations. In fact, some Christians did not even join the Roman Catholic Church when the faith was finally permitted due to the traditions which had been passed on and developed. This did not stop the Jesuit Mission in Japan, where eventually there was a group of Jesuits sent from the Vatican with the aim of further evangelising to the people. The plight of Christians eventually caught media attention in many major western countries. The Japanese government remained firm on the fact that the treatment of Christians and Catholics should be dealt with internally without the interference of the western countries. However, the media coverage portrayed japan as an uncivilised country due to the treatment of Christians and led to slow reformation. The persecution of Christians in Japan had completely come to a halt when a ‘freedom of religion’ clause was established in the year 1889.


Roman Catholicism and WW2

Japanese religion, in general, had entered a new phase after the commencement of WW2. US-allied forces had dismantled the state Shinto which led to the separation of state and religion through a new constitution in 1947. This involved freedom of religion which gave rise to new religious movements. However, this also included a rise in Christian converts during this period. The war was detrimental to the Archdiocese of Tokyo which contained the Vicariate of Sapporo. Throughout the war, fourteen out of twenty-one churches were destroyed within the Archdiocese of Tokyo. However, with the help of missionaries who had to leave China after the war, there was a significant expansion in the archdiocese, with 66 churches in total by the year 1963.


Formation of Diocese of Sapporo

Catholicism in Japan started exceedingly progressing throughout the 20th century with its ministries; establishing Dioceses, consecrating Bishops, forming Catholic schools and involving women in the ministries as Sisters. The formation of the Diocese of Sapporo initially took place in 1915 as a Prefecture which was separated from the Hakodate diocese in
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 la ...
. Then, on the 30th of March 1929 Msgr. Kinold was ordained a Bishop Vicar as the Prefecture and was later lifted to the Vicariate of Sapporo, which is a territory for which a vicar is responsible. In 1932, Bishop Kinold resigned from the position of Apostolic Vicariate of Sapporo, and was replaced by Msgr. Tatewaki Toda as the Apostolic administrator until 1944 where he was moved to the Yokohoma Diocese and was replaced by Msgr. Isamu Seno as the apostolic administrator. Then, on December 11, 1952, the Hakodate district which Sapporo was initially separated from was merged with Sapporo and this region was lifted to the Diocese of Sapporo under the governing of the Archdiocese of Tokyo by Pope Leo XIII. The bishop that was consecrated and placed as the diocesan bishop was Fr. Takahiko Tomizawa who was consecrated in 1953.


Current State

The Catholic church in Sapporo currently holds 0.3% of the population of Sapporo as Catholic Christians. However, Japanese members are on a decline not only within the diocese but within the entire catholic church in Japan. Regardless, the diocese still maintains its liturgy as part of the Roman rite and offers services in both Japanese and English.


Cathedral

The Cathedral of Guardian Angels, or better known as the Guardian Angels Cathedral, is the main cathedral of the Diocese of Sapporo and the official seat of the Catholic Bishop of Sapporo, Bernard Taiji Katsuya. The cathedral runs in accordance with the Roman rite of the Catholic Church and offers services in both the Japanese language and the English language. The church was lifted to its current status as the seat of the bishop of Sapporo by
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
. Before the church was established, Fr. Mermet Cachon arrived from
Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
in 1859 to live in Hakodate. Fr. Mermet started a missionary for the first time in 200 years in
Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...
, and from there a priest by the name of Fr. Urbain Faurie arrived in
Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...
in 1881. Fr. Urbain performed the first Mass in Sapporo and continued to perform Mass in a rented house with a temporary altar, and was the first parish priest of the Guardian angels church. In 1898, an altar was built out of Sapporo pumice tuff, which is presently at the parish hall and the priest’s house. The present altar with three aisles was dedicated under the name of Guardian angels in October 1916. In 1952, at the same time the apostolic prefecture of Sapporo was raised from vicariate to diocese, the church became a cathedral and was identified as the main church in the diocese of Sapporo and the seat of the bishop. Over the period of its establishment until the present day, there have been 15 parish priests, including many from the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris, and the order of Friars Minor.


Bishops

The first diocesan bishop for Sapporo was Benedict Takahiko Tomizawa, initially known as Fr. Takahiko Tomizawa and after his consecration was known as Bishop Benedict Takahiko Tomizawa. The Bishop was consecrated in 1953 although his term as bishop was from 1952, when the diocese was first established until October 1987, when he was succeeded and died over a year later in 1989. Bishop Benedict Takahiko Tomizawa was a significant figure in the Roman Catholic Church as he was involved in the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
of the Church, a global council covering many different topics including doctrinal reviews, Bishop ordinations and many others. Bishop Benedict was succeeded by Bishop
Peter Toshio Jinushi Peter Toshio Jinushi (20 September 1930 – 4 May 2021) was a Japanese Roman Catholic bishop. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1960 and served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sapporo The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sapporo is ...
on October 3, 1987, on the same day Bishop Benedict stepped down as Bishop of Sapporo. Bishop Peter's term lasted until November 17, 2009, when he retired and is now the bishop emeritus of Sapporo. Bishop Peter surpassed the accepted retirement age of any bishop within the Catholic church in September 2005 at the age of 75 years. However, Pope Benedict XVI extended his tenure by more than four years and finally accepted his resignation in 2009. Since his resignation, he has remained the senior bishop of the Diocese of Sapporo. The diocese was under the administration of Bishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, Bishop of the Diocese of Niigata from November 17, 2009, after the retirement of Bishop Peter. His term lasted until 2013, when he was succeeded by Bishop Bernard Taiji Katsuya. Bishop Tarcisio was only in administration due to the absence of an official diocesan bishop for Sapporo. Bishop Tarcisio was promoted to archbishop of the Archdiocese of Tokyo in 2017. Tarcisio serves as a member of the Representative Council of Caritas Internationalis and also serves as the president for both Caritas Japan and Caritas Asia. Bishop Tarcisio has also been a member of the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...
since 2014. The current bishop is Bernard Taiji Katsuya, who was consecrated bishop on October 14, 2013, and his term as bishop of Sapporo began in June 2013. Katsuya is also the chair of the Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace.


Other information

The status of the diocese is shown here: * 1915.02.12: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Sapporo/Sapporen ''(Latin)'' * 1929.03.30: Promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Sapporo/Sapporen ''(Latin)'' * 1932.07.18: Lost territory to establish Mission ''sui juris'' of Karafuto * 1952.12.11: Promoted as Diocese of Sapporo The Diocese’s Papal Visits are shown here: * 2019.11.23 – 2019.11.26: Apostolic Journey to Japan * 1981.02.23 – 1981.02.26: Apostolic Journey to Japan The Diocese’s Special Churches are shown here: * Cathedral: Cathedral of Guardian Angels 札幌 (Sapporo) * Former Cathedral: Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (Motomachi Church), 函館 (Hakodate). * Shrines in the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy


See also

*
Roman Catholicism in Japan , native_name_lang = , image = File:Tabira Catholic Church 01.jpg , imagewidth = 300px , alt = , caption = The Tabira Catholic Church, Hirado, Nagasaki , abbreviation = , type ...


References


Sources


GCatholic.org

Catholic Hierarchy


External links


Website of the diocese



Website of the cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapporo Roman Catholic dioceses in Japan Christian organizations established in 1915 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century