THESAURUM FIDEI - ARCHDIOCESE OF LUCCA

The process of evangelization of Japan, which began in 1549 with the arrival of Saint Francis Xavier, was initially successful: a large number of people converted and were baptized, including some important feudal lords of the Kyushu region. The seizure of power by the shogun Tokugawa, who unified the country and became its de facto supreme authority, changed everything. As part of a policy of rigid closure to any foreign influence, in 1612 the Kinkyo-rei, the ban on Christianity from Japan, was promulgated. It inaugurated a period of systematic and radical persecution, destined to last over 250 years.

H.E.R. Mons. Paolo Giulietti, Archbishop of Lucca
Prof. Arch. Olimpia Niglio, University of Pavia, Archdiocese of Lucca.