Ludwik Exarch
Feast: 10 September (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Ludovico Bertrán Eixarch was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1596; family tradition linked him to his relative, the celebrated missionary Saint Louis Bertrand, which likely shaped his early call to religious life. He entered the Dominican Order and travelled to Japan as a missionary during the harsh persecution under the Tokugawa shogunate, working secretly around Omura together with two Japanese Dominicans, Mancio of the Holy Cross and Peter of Saint Mary, administering the sacraments and supporting the hidden Christian communities.
The three were captured and, after interrogation and pressure to make them apostatise, were condemned to be burned alive; they died at Omura on 29 July 1627 without renouncing their faith. Their veneration began within the Dominican Order and among Far Eastern mission communities, and Pope Pius IX beatified them on 7 July 1867 together with a large group of Japanese martyrs.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
Catalan Dominican missionary burned at the stake with two Japanese confreres at Omura, Japan, on 29 July 1627; beatified by Pius IX in 1867.
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
- Louis Bertrand Saint“Ludovico Bertrán Eixarch was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1596; family tradition linked him to his relative, the celebrated missionary Saint Louis Bertrand, which likely shaped his early call to religious life.” — this site's research
- Mancio of the Holy Cross Blessed“He entered the Dominican Order and travelled to Japan as a missionary during the harsh persecution under the Tokugawa shogunate, working secretly around Omura together with two Japanese Dominicans, Mancio of the Holy Cross and Peter of Saint Mary, administering the sacraments and supporting the hidden Christian…” — this site's research
- Peter of Saint Mary Blessed“He entered the Dominican Order and travelled to Japan as a missionary during the harsh persecution under the Tokugawa shogunate, working secretly around Omura together with two Japanese Dominicans, Mancio of the Holy Cross and Peter of Saint Mary, administering the sacraments and supporting the hidden Christian…” — this site's research
- Santi, beati e testimoni (santiebeati.it) - Beati Ludovico Bertrán, Mancio della Santa Croce e Pietro di Santa Maria, by Giampietro Cattini
- Wikidata Q20029627 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.