Roman Catholic Diocese of Sapporo

Roman Catholicism was established by Jesuit Missionaries, led by St. Francis Xavier who was a Jesuit Himself.[1] The establishment of Catholicism by St Francis Xavier happened six years after the discovery of Japan by Portuguese Sailors in 1549.[2]

In its earliest stages, approximately 250 years after its foundation in 1549, Catholicism and its Christian Members faced violent persecutions and torture due to the forbidding of Gospel preaching in the country.[3] Christianity in Japan, in general, was initially founded by Assyrian Missionaries,[4] however, it was St Francis Xavier who established Catholicism and had managed to preach the Gospel through the assistance of a Japanese interpreter, which allowed for the rapid spread of Christianity first at the southern region and later reaching the pinnacle of its northern territory. In around 1580, the Catholic convert population had surpassed 200,000 members, although facing much persecution paired with the rejection of foreign missionaries, Priests and Bishops as ordered by the ruling shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi.[5]

The persecution period for Christians involved capturing, torturing, and when they remained persistent about being Christians, were killed. Many Christians decided to hide their faith by disguising as members of Buddhism or Shintoism which were accepted religions in Japan, while practicing Christianity undercover. These Christians were known as hidden Christians, or kakure.[5] The kakure developed a system to maintain their liturgical calendar, preach to people outside the faith and conduct liturgies such as baptism and funerals. However, this had to be done without priests or any clergy in general for multiple generations. In fact, some Christians did not even join the Roman Catholic Church when the faith was finally permitted due to the traditions which had been passed on and developed.[6] This did not stop the Jesuit Mission in Japan, where eventually there was a group of Jesuits sent from the Vatican with the aim of further evangelising to the people.

The plight of Christians eventually caught media attention in many major western countries. The Japanese government remained firm on the fact that the treatment of Christians and Catholics should be dealt with internally without the interference of the western countries.[7] However, the media coverage portrayed japan as an uncivilised country due to the treatment of Christians and led to slow reformation.[5] The persecution of Christians in Japan had completely come to a halt when a ‘freedom of religion’ clause was established in the year 1889.[8]

Japanese religion, in general, had entered a new phase after the commencement of WW2. US-allied forces had dismantled the state Shinto which led to the separation of state and religion through a new constitution in 1947.[9] This involved freedom of religion which gave rise to new religious movements. However, this also included a rise in Christian converts during this period.

The war was detrimental to the Archdiocese of Tokyo which contained the Vicariate of Sapporo. Throughout the war, fourteen out of twenty-one churches were destroyed within the Archdiocese of Tokyo. However, with the help of missionaries who had to leave China after the war, there was a significant expansion in the archdiocese, with 66 churches in total by the year 1963.[7]

Catholicism in Japan started exceedingly progressing throughout the 20th century with its ministries; establishing Dioceses, consecrating Bishops, forming Catholic schools and involving women in the ministries as Sisters.

Pope Leo XIII lifted the Vicariate of Sapporo to the Diocese of Sapporo

The formation of the Diocese of Sapporo initially took place in 1915 as a Prefecture which was separated from the Hakodate diocese in Hokkaido.[10] Then, on the 30th of March 1929 Msgr. Kinold was ordained a Bishop Vicar as the Prefecture and was later lifted to the Vicariate of Sapporo, which is a territory for which a vicar is responsible.[10]

In 1932, Bishop Kinold resigned from the position of Apostolic Vicariate of Sapporo, and was replaced by Msgr. Tatewaki Toda as the Apostolic administrator until 1944 where he was moved to the Yokohoma Diocese and was replaced by Msgr. Isamu Seno as the apostolic administrator.[10]

Then, on December 11, 1952, the Hakodate district which Sapporo was initially separated from was merged with Sapporo and this region was lifted to the Diocese of Sapporo under the governing of the Archdiocese of Tokyo by Pope Leo XIII. The bishop that was consecrated and placed as the diocesan bishop was Fr. Takahiko Tomizawa who was consecrated in 1953.[10]

The Catholic church in Sapporo currently holds 0.3% of the population of Sapporo as Catholic Christians.[11] However, Japanese members are on a decline not only within the diocese but within the entire catholic church in Japan.[5] Regardless, the diocese still maintains its liturgy as part of the Roman rite and offers services in both Japanese and English.