Charles Spinola

Charles Spinola (1564 – 10 September 1622), also known as Carlo Spinola, was a Jesuit missionary from Genoa, Italy, martyred in Japan as a missionary.

Life Charles (or Carlo) Spinola was born in January 1564 in Genoa, Italy, the son of Ottavio Spinola, Count of Tassarolo. He was educated in Spain and in the Jesuit school in Nola, Italy, where he lived with his uncle, Philip Cardinal Spinola, Bishop of Nola. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in December 1584, and studied in Naples, Milan, and Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1594, and assigned to serve parishes in Cremona.

Travels In 1595,

Spinola, with 7 other Jesuits, set sail from Lisbon on 10 April 1596 with the Portuguese India fleet, bound for Goa. A violent storm damaged the ship's rudder and they were forced to make for Brazil, where they landed on 15 July. They stayed for five months while their ship was repaired, leaving on 12 December 1596, ), England, on 5 November. The next day, his ship continued to its home port 'Atapson' (Topsham For twelve years, he worked at ministering to the growing Christian community in Japan. In 1614, all foreign missionaries were banished so Spinola went into hiding, eluding capture for four years. After being arrested in 1618, he, Ambrose Fernandes and their catechist, John Chogoku, were imprisoned for four years in a birdcage-like confinement under harsh conditions. He was burnt at the stake at Nagasaki on 10 September 1622 during the Great Genna Martyrdom. Spinola was declared Blessed in 1867, along with 30 other Jesuits, over half of whom were Japanese.