Picture: Didier Descouens · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Ludovicus Baba
17th-century Japanese Christian martyr
BlessedResearchedFranciscans
Feast: 25 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
—
unknown
Died
1624
Beatified
7 July 1867
by Pius IX
Canonised
—
not yet
Who they were
Louis Baba, a religious of the Order of Friars Minor, was burned alive at Shimabara in Japan for his faith in Christ, with Blessed Michael Carvalho, Pedro Vazquez, Luis Sotelo and Louis Sasada; the Church remembers them on 25 August.
He is one of the 205 martyrs killed in Japan for the Catholic faith between 1617 and 1632 whom Pius IX declared Blessed on 7 July 1867.
The miracles
In 1867 Pius IX approved four signs in the cause of the 205 martyrs of Japan; the source does not describe them.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Japanese Franciscan burned alive for Christ.
Connected on this site
- Luis Sotelo Blessed“Louis Baba, a religious of the Order of Friars Minor, was burned alive at Shimabara in Japan for his faith in Christ, with Blessed Michael Carvalho, Pedro Vazquez, Luis Sotelo and Louis Sasada; the Church remembers them on 25 August.” — this site's research
Sources
- Conferenza Episcopale Italiana - Santo del giorno, 25 agosto (Martirologio Romano)
- Acta Sanctae Sedis 2 (1867), pp. 478-481 and 638-641 - decrees of Pius IX on the 205 martyrs of Japan (1617-1632)
- Directorio Franciscano (Franciscan Order, Spain) - Beatos Ricardo de Santa Ana y compañeros, mártires de Japón (beatification of the 205 on 7 July 1867)
- Wikidata Q24953247 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Ludovicus Baba (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.