Michael de Aozaraza
Spanish missionary
Feast: 29 September (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
At Nagasaki in Japan, the passion of the holy martyrs Michael de Aozaraza, William Courtet, Vincent Shiwozuka, priests of the Order of Preachers, Lazarus of Kyoto and Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila, father of a family, who, kept in prison for more than a year for the name of Christ, suffered the torture of the cross and finally beheading. Their memory, together with that of other companions, is celebrated on the preceding day.
The miracles
The Roman Martyrology does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 29 September as a Dominican priest martyred at Nagasaki after more than a year in prison.
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
- Guillaume Courtet Saint“At Nagasaki in Japan, the passion of the holy martyrs Michael de Aozaraza, Guillaume Courtet, Vincent Shiwozuka, priests of the Order of Preachers, Lazarus of Kyoto and Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila, father of a family, who, kept in prison for more than a year for the name of Christ, suffered the torture of the cross and…” — this site's research
- Lazarus of Kyoto Saint“At Nagasaki in Japan, the passion of the holy martyrs Michael de Aozaraza, William Courtet, Vincent Shiwozuka, priests of the Order of Preachers, Lazarus of Kyoto and Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila, father of a family, who, kept in prison for more than a year for the name of Christ, suffered the torture of the cross and…” — this site's research
- Lorenzo Ruiz Saint“At Nagasaki in Japan, the passion of the holy martyrs Michael de Aozaraza, William Courtet, Vincent Shiwozuka, priests of the Order of Preachers, Lazarus of Kyoto and Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila, father of a family, who, kept in prison for more than a year for the name of Christ, suffered the torture of the cross and…” — this site's research
- Vincent Shiwozuka Saint“At Nagasaki in Japan, the passion of the holy martyrs Michael de Aozaraza, William Courtet, Vincent Shiwozuka, priests of the Order of Preachers, Lazarus of Kyoto and Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila, father of a family, who, kept in prison for more than a year for the name of Christ, suffered the torture of the cross and…” — this site's research
- Roman Martyrology, 29 September (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q12263546 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.