The hidden Christians come forward at Ōura

On 17 March 1865 hidden Christians from the village of Urakami risked their lives to visit the new Ōura church in Nagasaki, built in 1864 in memory of the 26 martyrs, and told the French priest Bernard Petitjean, the first priest they had met, that they shared his faith, handed down in secret since the 17th century. The Meiji government lifted the prohibition in 1873, and the hidden Christian sites of the Nagasaki region are now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The mechanism

CUSTODY OF THE WORD

How it was checked

• EvidenceT5 INDEPENDENT SECULAR; Status: ADDED 2026-09-19
• Letter eraTHE SEAT MOVES TO THE BENCH 1713 to 1945
• SourcesRECORD — R. De Luca SJ, 'The Discovery of the “Hidden Christians” of Japan', La Civiltà Cattolica (2019); Britannica, '26 Martyrs of Japan' (Ōura built 1864 in their memory); UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 'Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region' · checked 19 September: R. De Luca SJ, La Civilta Cattolica 2019 (read in a browser); Britannica (read in a browser; WebFetch is refused by the site), '26 Martyrs of Japan' (Oura built 1864; ban lifted 1873); UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 'Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region' (read in a browser)