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Gulf Pine Catholic • November 12, 2021 11 ‘A Samurai in the Vatican,’ Nov. 17, PBS BY JOHN MULDERIG Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- An intriguing but largely forgotten historical incident is skillfully recounted in the documentary “A Samurai in the Vatican.” Presented as part of the series “Secrets of the Dead,” the film premieres Wednesday, Nov. 17, 10-11 p.m. EST on PBS. Broadcast times may vary, however, and viewers are advised to check local listings. In the early years of the 17th century, Japanese nobleman Date Masamune was angling for power as his nation transitioned from a period of factious infighting to the more stable rule of the Tokugawa shoguns. As part of his bid for expanded influence, Masamune dis- patched two very different ambassadors on a journey that would take them first to Mexico and then on to Europe. One envoy was samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga. The son of a disgraced official in Masamune’s court who had been forced to commit ritual suicide, Tsunenaga was trying to rehabilitate his family’s reputation by undertaking such a perilous mission for his overlord. Accompanying Tsunenaga was Spanish-born Christian missionary Luis Sotelo, a Franciscan friar. Fluent in Japanese, Sotelo hoped that his embassy on Masamune’s behalf would bolster the aristocrat’s favor- able attitude toward Christianity and perhaps result in his own appointment as a bishop in his adopted country. Masamune’s goal was to win the approval of the Spanish king, Philip III, for expanded trade between his realm, centered on the northeastern city of Sendai, and the vast territory then known as New Spain. This colo- ny included not only modern-day Mexico, California and much of the Southwest of the United States but portions of Central and South America as well. To obtain Philip’s consent, Tsunenaga and Sotelo met first with his envoy in the New World, Viceroy Diego Fernández de Córdoba, then with the monarch himself and finally with Pope Paul V. To accomplish all this, they had to cross both the Pacific and the Atlantic, traveling much of the globe and visiting, successively, Mexico City, Madrid and Rome, among other destina- tions. The Italian leg of their expedition came about because indecisive Philip, who was uneasy about Masamune’s project, tried to leave a final decision about it up to the pontiff. However, although Paul looked favorably on Sotelo’s religious proposals, he ultimately declined to involve himself in the commer- cial aspect of the duo’s embassy. Besides Philip’s dithering, other factors that weighed against the success of the unlikely pair’s venture included the shogunate’s hardening attitude toward Christian proselytism -- the faith would be suppressed altogether in Japan not long afterward and the island empire closed to almost all outsiders. Tsunenaga and Sotelo’s trek thus represent- ed, in a sense, the end of an era. Professor Jesús San Bernardino Coronil, who teaches Asian studies at Spain’s University of Seville, serves as the audi- ence’s principal guide to these events. Other experts who appear include histori- ans, archivists and at least one theologian. Believing viewers will be especially interested in the final question on which the program focuses: How sincere was Tsunenaga’s conversion to Catholicism, a transformation solemnized by his 1614 baptism? Did the subsequent persecution of the faith lead Tsunenaga, who took the Christian name Felipe in honor of the sovereign to whom he had been sent, to abandon it? Sotelo’s fate is more clearly established than that of his companion. After returning to Japan in disguise, he was martyred in 1624. He was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1867. Mature themes aside, “A Samurai in the Vatican” is free of objectionable material and makes for highly informative and educational viewing. Teens as well as grown-ups will profit from learning about the important episode in diplomatic and religious history the show seeks to rescue from oblivion.     Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service. This is an image for the TV show “A Samurai in the Vatican,” airing Nov. 17, on PBS. CNS photo/PBS World needs people who are passionate about caring for others, pope says BY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE ROME (CNS) -- People need to be passionate about serving others and caring for those who suffer, Pope Francis said. “Lord, we entrust to your heart the vocation of care -- let us make every person who approaches us in need feel special,” he said in a homily to medical and teach- ing staff, students, patients and others at a Mass held outside the medical school connected to Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where he was a patient for 10 days in July. The pope presided over the Mass at Rome’s University of the Sacred Heart, Nov. 5 -- the first Friday of the month, which many devote to the sacred heart of Jesus. The university, which was founded in Milan and has four satellite campuses in Italy, is one of the largest Catholic universities in the world and is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The Mass marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the university’s Agostino Gemelli Department of Medicine and Surgery in Rome, known informally as “the pope’s hospital” as it is where popes typically go for medical treatment. Pope Francis underwent colon surgery there in July. In his homily, the pope recognized the fatigue and chal- lenges medical staff face, not just in their day-to-day duties, but also when it comes to dealing with rare or undetected diseases and wanting to give everyone the same high-quality health care. “We might get discouraged. This is why we need comfort,” he said.