Guillaume Courtet, OP (1589–1637) was a French Dominican priest who has been described as the first Frenchman to have visited Japan. He was martyred in 1637 and canonized in 1987.

Career

Courtet was born in

Sérignan Sérignan (; oc, Serinhan) is a Communes of France, commune in the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region in southern France. Population See also *Communes of th ...

, near

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a subprefecture of the Hérault department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hosts the famous ''Feria de Béziers'', which is centred on bullfighting. A million visitors are attra ...

, in 1589 or 1590. He entered the orders in the city of Béziers and later entered the Capucines in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

. Courtet was active in the diplomatic field during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

and was remarked by the French statesman Richelieu.Polak 2001, p.13 In 1636, Guillaume Courtet entered Japan in secret, with the objective of furthering Western efforts to promote Christianity there. He was accompanied by a Spanish friend named Miguel de Ozaraza. Entering Japan was a very dangerous endeavour, as

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

had been prohibited in the country since 1613. Courtet entered the country under the Spanish name Tomaso de Santo Domingo. He sailed from 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 ...

and disembarked in Ishigaki-jima, but a few days later he was caught and imprisoned for one year. From there he was brought to

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

and then

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 ...

. In an attempt to make him apostatize, he was tortured by being submitted to the " torture of the water", the "torture of the alênes" (needles under the fingernails) and the hanging torture of '' tsurushi''. He remained true to his faith, however, and as a result he was beheaded with his friends on 29 September 1637.

Cause of beatification and cannonization

The ''Positio Super Introductione Causae'' or the cause of beatification was authored by respected historian, Fidel Villarroel, which led to his beatification during

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

's papal visit to the Philippines. It was the first beatification ceremony to be held outside the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

in history. Guillaume Courtet became a saint on 18 October 1987 among the

16 Martyrs of Japan The were Christians who were persecuted for their faith in Japan, mostly during the 17th century. Early Christianity in Japan Christian missionaries arrived with Francis Xavier and the Jesuits in the 1540s and briefly flourished, with over 10 ...

Notes

References

* Polak, Christian. (2001). ''Soie et lumières: L'âge d'or des échanges franco-japonais (des origines aux années 1950).'' Tokyo: ''Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie Française du Japon,''

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

Fujin Gahōsha (アシェット婦人画報社). * __________. (2002). 絹と光: 知られざる日仏交流100年の歴史 (江戶時代-1950年代) ''Kinu to hikariō: shirarezaru Nichi-Futsu kōryū 100-nen no rekishi (Edo jidai-1950-nendai).'' Tokyo: Ashetto Fujin Gahōsha, 2002. ;

External links

Association of the friends of Guillaume Courtet
(French)

(English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Courtet, Guillaume French Dominicans 1589 births 1637 deaths French Roman Catholic missionaries Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Canonizations by Pope John Paul II Roman Catholic missionaries in Japan Dominican missionaries French expatriates in Japan French torture victims French people executed abroad 17th-century Christian saints 17th-century executions by Japan 17th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 17th-century travelers