Jesuit martyr in Japan. A native of Ponte da Lima, Portugual, Pacheco entered the Society of Jesus in 1584 and was subsequently sent to Macao. There he was ordained and concentrated his efforts on missionary work on the island. He then went to Japan, the main focus of his labors. After a brief first visit, he left the islands but returned with Bishop Louis Cerquiera as vicar general to the recently constituted diocese, of which Cerquiera was head. The bishop died in 1614 and Pacheco was forced to leave Japan following the formal expulsion of all foreign clergy. Under the risk of penalty, Pacheco returned to Japan in a disguise and served for a short time before receiving appointment as episcopal administrator. He held the post briefly, as he was soon arrested and burned alive with eight other Christians at Nagasaki. He was beatified in 1867.
Comments
No comments posted.
Post your Comment
Comments that include profanity, personal attacks, antisocial behavior such as "spamming" and "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will not be posted on Catholic Online. Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of service. While Catholic Online invites robust discussion, we maintain the right to not print material that is patently false in its claims concerning the teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, overtly anti-Catholic or which, in the opinion of the moderator, are intended to mislead readers as to what the Catholic Church teaches. Comments DO NOT necessarily reflect the opinion or views of Catholic Online.