Between 1633 and 1637 sixteen Christians were martyred for their faith in Nagasaki, Japan. All sixteen were related to the Dominican Order in some way: nine Dominican priests, two Dominican brothers, two consecrated virgins, and three Dominican tertiaries, lay persons who belong to the Third Order of St. Dominic. They belonged to five different nationalities: nine were Japanese, four Spaniards, one Frenchman, one Italian, and one Filipino, St. Lorenzo Ruiz.
