Blessed Sebastian Kimura: Three Hours in the Fire

Blessed Sebastian Kimura is the saint we celebrate today in the book In Caelo et in Terra. He joined the Jesuits at the age of 19, after having worked closely with the Jesuit society from a very young age. Shortly after he joined, a severe persecution against the church began in Japan. His superiors commanded him to flee, but he was arrested before he could escape. He and several others were burned alive over the course of several hours. He was in torment for over three hours, and finally knelt in the flames and died, going straight to heaven. You can read more about him here.

Pray for those who face persecution today. Even though Blessed Sebastian lived in the 17th century, there have been more martyrs in the last 100 years than in all of history before then. Pray for strength and endurance for our Christian brothers and sisters around the world... and for strength for us here in the US if this kind of persecution comes to our land.

God, thanks for the faithfulness and example of this young Jesuit. Blessed Sebastian Kimura, pray for us.