Guillaume Courtet

Guillaume Courtet, O.P. (1589–1637) was a French Dominican friar, Catholic priest, and missionary. One of the first Frenchman to have visited Japan, he died as a martyr by beheading in Nagasaki at the hands of the Tokugawa Shogunate on Michaelmas Day 1637 after three days continuous torture. He was canonised by Pope John Paul II in 1987 as one of the 16 Martyrs of Japan. He is celebrated annually on the September 28th as one of the 16 and on November 6 as one of the Thomasian Martyrs.

Life Early life Guillaume Courtet was born in 1589 or 1590 the little town of Sérignan (just inland from the coast on the Gulf of Lion) in Languedoc in the Kingdom of France, under the ecclesiastical administration of the Diocese of Béziers. He was one of at least four children of Jehan Courtet and Barbe Malaure. There is uncertainty about his birth date because the parish baptism register for that year does not survive. Local tradition holds a site in the Rue des Salanquiers as his birthplace.

Inspired by stories from his Jesuit school days and new examples such as the Great Genna Martyrdom and the martyrdoms of his fellow Preaching Friars like Alfonso Navarrete (d. 1617), Thomas of Zumárraga (d. 1622), and Pedro Vásquez (d. 1624), mission to Japan was on his mind during this period. In a letter of 1628, 9 years before his martyrdom, he asked to be sent to mission fields where the church endured persecution. He anticipates the prospect of "enduring the torments to which I want to expose myself" adding that he had "always" had this desire. In the end, he spent nearly two years in the Philippines and faced many difficulties in departing to Japan. The passage of missionaries from the Philippines to Japan was prohibited by the Governor-General who feared Japanese reprisals for continued missionary activity in spite of clear opposition. Courtet, who had to provide his own means of transportation, had his first covertly constructed boat destroyed by the authorities. Eventually he was able to procure the use of a junk in early summer 1636.

Martyrdom On the 27th of September 1637 he and his companions were taken to Nishizaka Hill in Nagasaki for trial by torture, an attempt to make them apostatise. Notably, Nishizaka Hill was also the location of the martyrdoms of the 26 who’s stories had inspired Courtet as a boy. They were submitted to the "water torture", "torture of the awls" (needles under the fingernails), and the hanging torture of tsurushi. He remained true to his faith throughout the three day ordeal. In the evening on Michaelmas Day (29 September) 1637, he was removed from the tsurushi pit and beheaded along with the others who hadn’t already died from blood loss. After their execution, the bodies of Courtet and his companions were immediately burnt to prevent them being venerated as relics. The ashes were then scattered at sea. It was the first beatification ceremony to be held outside the Vatican in history.

Guillaume Courtet was canonised, together with another 15 martyrs of Japan, on October 18, 1987 by Pope John Paul II in St Peter's Square, at the Vatican in Rome.

Liturgical commemoration Guillaume Courtet is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on the 28th of September as one of the 16 Martyrs of Japan. He is also commemorated in the Dominican order on the 6th of November as one of the 17 Thomasian Martyrs.

Shrines

His principal shrine is the Collegiate Church of Our Lady of Grace in Serignan, the principal church of his hometown where he was most likely baptised and where he was educated. He is also commemorated in the Far East, at Binondo Church (Shrine of the 16 Martyrs) and Santísimo Rosario Church (shrine of the Thomasian Martyrs) both in Manila, Philippines. In Japan, he is primarily commemorated on the site of his death in Nagasaki by the Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument.

Memorials There is a statue of Courtet in his hometown near the site of his birth erected in 1894.