Blessed Charles Spinola

Charles Spinola (1564 – 10 September 1622), also known as Carlo Spinola, was a Jesuit missionary from Genoa, Italy, martyred in Japan as a missionary. Charles (or Carlo) Spinola was born in January 1564 in Genoa, Italy, the son of Ottavio Spinola, Count of Tassarolo. He was educated in Spain and in the Jesuit school in Nola, Italy, where he lived with his uncle, Philip Cardinal Spinola, Bishop of Nola. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in December 1584, and studied in Naples, Milan, and Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1594, and assigned to serve parishes in Cremona. In 1595, he received a letter appointing him to the missions in Japan. His journey was marked by shipwrecks and delays, which included his being detained in England. He first left Italy on his way to Japan in December 1595 but reached his destination only in 1602, over six years later. The first ship he took from Genoa struck a rock and was forced to return to Genoa for repairs. Setting out again, he arrived in Barcelona and made his way on foot to Lisbon. Spinola, with 7 other Jesuits, set sail from Lisbon on 10 April 1596 with the Portuguese India fleet, bound for Goa. A violent storm damaged the ship's rudder and they were forced to make for Brazil, where they landed on 15 July. They stayed for five months while their ship was repaired, leaving on 12 December 1596, to return to Lisbon. A severe storm damaged their ship again and they made for Puerto Rico, where they disembarked on 25 March 1597. The missionaries found the general state of morality among the Spanish sugar plantations deplorable, and Spinola considered their arrival providential. Based in San Juan, he and the small band of Jesuits preached and taught catechism, visiting outlying settlements. On one occasion, Spinola was nearly drowned when his horse lost its footing crossing a river.