Paul Miki was born in Japan in the year 1566 in a wealthy family; he was educated by the Jesuits in Azuchi and Takatsuki. He entered the Society of Jesus and preached the Gospel among his fellow citizens bearing much fruit.

When persecution against Catholics broke out again, he decided to continue his ministry and was arrested together with others. On the journey to martyrdom, he and his Christian companions were forced to walk 600 miles to serve as a lesson for the rest of the population. They went singing the Te Deum. Their captors made them suffer much. Finally, they arrived in Nagasaki and, while he forgave his executioners, he was crucified on February 5, 1597. He preached his last sermon from the cross.

The scholar John Soan de Goto and brother James Kisai of the Society of Jesus and 23 other religious and lay people suffered martyrdom together with him. Among the Franciscans martyred was Bl. Felipe de Jesus, a Mexican.

They were all canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1862.

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