Maryland pastor explores Asian saints in new book

Published: 2008-01-03

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Not long before he was to be ordained a Jesuit priest in 16th-century Japan, St. Paul Miki was captured and forced to march with his companions more than 1,000 miles as part of a national campaign of persecution of Christians. Sentenced to die by crucifixion, the young man was said to have described the cross as "the noblest pulpit" he ever filled. While hanging on a cross on Nagasaki Hill, the saint was heard forgiving the emperor and begging the Japanese leader and his executioners to "seek baptism and be Christians themselves." The heroic martyrdom of St. Paul Miki is just one of many stories of bravery and faith recounted in "Saints of Asia, 1500 to the Present," a new book by Vincentian Father Vincent J. O'Malley. Published by Our Sunday Visitor, the 220-page reference book is the fifth book on saints written by the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Emmitsburg, Md. It is the culmination of three years of research.

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