Walking with Japanese Pilgrims During the Month of Mary

Each May, as the world blooms into the Month of Mary, Catholics in Japan gather in quiet devotion.
Together, we lift our prayers to the Blessed Virgin and honor the sacred memory of the generations who kept the flickering flame of faith alive through centuries of silence and persecution.

Step softly into the footsteps of the Hidden Christians, souls whose unwavering devotion survived more than 250 years without priests, altars, or public worship, sustained only by grace and the rosary. Stand where the Japanese Martyrs stood, offering their lives for love of Christ, and let the quiet strength of their legacy touch and transform your own heart.

This sacred journey is also a tender walk with Our Lady. We will travel to the holy grounds of Our Lady of Akita, one of Asia’s most profound sanctuaries, where the weeping statue reminds us of a Mother’s deep love and local Church recognition confirms her presence. Together, we will also join the faithful at Otome Pass, walking the path of an annual Marian pilgrimage to commemorate her appearance to a suffering Hidden Christian community, a beautiful testament of hope cherished and approved by the Hiroshima Diocese.

Come, not simply to witness history, but to encounter the living God. Let this journey be a sanctuary for your soul, a time to heal, to remember, and to return home deeply renewed in faith and hope.