Camilo Constâncio (1571-1622)

A member of the Society of Jesus that mainly worked in Japan, he was born in Cosenza, Calabria in 1571 and passed away in Tabira (Hirado) on 15 September 1622. He entered the Society on 8 September 1591 and left for India in 1603, arriving in Macau in 1604. When he went in Japan in 1605, he studied the Japanese language in Arima; he went there against his will, since his great wish was to evangelise in China. In Macau, we was examined by Fathers Francisco Lopes and António Rodrigues, with the former immediately rejecting him and the latter being less radical, even though he also considered that his performance in the examinations had not been very satisfactory. He wished to go to China, but he wrote to the Superior General from Sakai on 6 February 1612 asking to definitely stay in Japan, since he had lived there for eight years, already knew the language and customs, confessed and preached. He left for exile in Macau in November 1614, professing four vows there on 21 October 1615. He re-entered Japan in August 1621, but was captured on 24 April 1622 and burnt alive.

Bibliography:
COSTA, João Paulo Oliveira e, O Cristianismo no Japão e o Episcopado de D. Luís de Cerqueira, dissertação de doutoramento em História apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, 1998 (texto fotocopiado).

Translated by: John Silva