Bl. John of Saint Martha, Roman Catholic Franciscan, Bl. Mary Magdalen Kiota, Roman Catholic Dominican tertiary, Martyrs of Japan, Feastday Aug 16

Bl. John of Saint Martha, Roman Catholic Franciscan Martyr of Japan. He was born in Prados, Spain, in 1578, and ordained a Franciscan in 1606. Sent to Japan, he mastered that nation's language and worked in the missions. He was arrested in 1615 and spent three years in prison before being beheaded. John was beatified in 1867. Feastday Aug 16

Bl. Mary Magdalen Kiota, Roman Catholic Dominican tertiary and Japanese Martyr. A princess of Japan and relative of a local lord, she was a Dominican tertiary. Arrested for sheltering missionaries, she was burned alive at Nagasaki. Feastday Aug. 16