Six men religious, who were expelled from Communist China in 1951, arrived in the Asian archipelago on the feast of St. Francis Xavier, patron saint of missionaries. Carmelite nuns had been in Japan since 1933.
The Carmelites were welcomed in the Nagoya Diocese by the then apostolic prefect, Monsignor Matsuoka Magoshiro. One of the priests, Italian Father Piergiuseppe Teruzzi, is still alive.
The Carmelite celebrations will culminate in a solemn Mass on Dec. 8.
The Discalced Carmelites, who are also in the dioceses of Tokyo, Kyoto and Oita, number 38 religious in the country, including 22 Japanese.
