Philip of Jesus

Life events

1. Born — 1572

   Felipe de las Casas Ruiz was born in Mexico City in 1572; his parents had recently emigrated from Spain, making him one of the earliest recorded Mexican-born individuals to achieve Catholic sainthood.

2. Tonsured — 1589

   Philip joined the Reformed Franciscans of the Province of St. Didacus, founded in Mexico by Peter Baptista, but left the order after some months, finding religious life difficult to sustain.

3. Other — 1590

   After leaving the Franciscans and taking up a mercantile career in the Philippines, Philip sought re-admission to the order and was accepted back at Manila in 1590.

4. Pilgrimage — 1596

   On 12 July 1596, Philip sailed from Manila aboard the San Felipe bound for Mexico City to receive ordination, since the episcopal see of Manila was vacant and no bishop was available locally to ordain him.

5. Imprisoned — 1596

   A storm drove the San Felipe onto the Japanese coast; the provincial governor confiscated the ship and imprisoned its passengers. On 8 December 1596, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the arrest of the Franciscans at Miako (Kyoto), suspecting that missionaries were advance agents for military conquest — a suspicion inflamed by the discovery of soldiers, cannon, and ammunition aboard the wrecked vessel.

6. Other — 1597

   On 3 January 1597 the prisoners' ears were cropped and they were paraded through the streets of Kyoto; on 21 January they were removed to Osaka and then marched overland to Nagasaki, arriving on 5 February 1597.

7. Martyred — 1597

   On 5 February 1597, Philip and his twenty-five companions were taken to a hill near Nagasaki — later called the Mount of the Martyrs — bound to crosses and pierced with spears. The group comprised six Franciscan friars, seventeen Japanese Franciscan tertiaries, the Japanese Jesuit Paul Miki, and two of Miki's native servants.

8. Other — 1862

   Philip was beatified by Urban VIII in 1627 and canonized together with his twenty-five companions by Pius IX on 8 June 1862, becoming the first Mexican-born individual raised to the altars of the Roman Catholic Church.

Relationships

Documented claims

• Philip of Jesus is the first Mexican-born individual canonized in the Roman Catholic Church, born in Mexico City in 1572 to parents who had emigrated from Spain. (likely)
• Philip is the patron saint of Mexico City, the capital and largest city of Mexico, with his feast celebrated on 5 February. (likely)
• Philip's martyrdom arose from a diplomatic crisis triggered by the shipwreck of the San Felipe: the discovery of soldiers, cannon, and ammunition aboard led Toyotomi Hideyoshi to suspect the missionaries were advance agents for military conquest of Japan. (likely)
• The Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan comprised six Franciscan friars, seventeen Japanese Franciscan tertiaries, the Japanese Jesuit Paul Miki, and two of Miki's native servants — a cross-order and cross-national group executed together on 5 February 1597. (likely)
• A 1949 Mexican film titled Philip of Jesus, directed by Julio Bracho with Ernesto Alonso in the title role, depicted his life and martyrdom. (likely)