Leo Tanaka
Jesuit religious and martyr at Omura
Feast: 1 June (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
At Omura in Japan, the blessed martyrs Alphonsus Navarrete, of the Order of Preachers, Ferdinand of Saint Joseph de Ayala, of the Order of the Hermits of Saint Augustine, priests, and Leo Tanaka, a religious of the Society of Jesus, who, in hatred of the Christian faith, by edict of the supreme commander Hidetada, were beheaded together.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 1 June as a Jesuit religious beheaded at Omura in Japan in hatred of the Christian faith.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
Connected on this site
- Ferdinand of Saint Joseph de Ayala Blessed“At Omura in Japan, the blessed martyrs Alphonsus Navarrete, of the Order of Preachers, Ferdinand of Saint Joseph de Ayala, of the Order of the Hermits of Saint Augustine, priests, and Leo Tanaka, a religious of the Society of Jesus, who, in hatred of the Christian faith, by edict of the supreme commander Hidetada,…” — this site's research
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.