Tecla Hashimoto is the only known pregnant martyr in Catholic history. She was martyred in Kyoto (then called "Miyako," meaning "The Capital"), Japan, on October 6, 1619. She was part of "The Great Kyoto Martyrdom" in which 52 people, including five of her children, and her husband, Johann, on the cross behind her, were set aflame in front of the "Great Kyoto Buddha" simply for holding the Catholic Faith.
The leaders of the Modern Catholic Church have seen fit not to include the child in Tecla's womb in the count of 52 martyrs. They have also seen fit to lump the 52 Martyrs of Kyoto into a much larger group of 188 Martyrs from 16 different smaller groups of martyrs strewn throughout Japan from the years 1603-1639; then, in a deft maneuver of misdirection, have "beatified" them in faraway Nagasaki; all this effectively burying the extraordinary nature of Tecla's sacrifice and squashing devotion to her more effectively than Japan's various tyrranous regimes since that time could have ever done.
There have been many changes in the Catholic Church since the Revolution of the Second Vatican Council, which took place from 1962-1965.
Could it be that this Revolution has affected the way that Tecla, the child in her womb, and the 52 Martyrs of Kyoto are being portrayed (or not portrayed) by the modern church?
In this website, we will take a critical look at the modern church's handling of the Great Kyoto Martyrdom, Tecla's martyrdom in particular, and the child in her womb, to see if they are all being given their just due.
