Saint Clara Church

Saint Clara Church, in Nakano, was one of four secret churches.

In 1603, Saint Clara Church was built in which a Spanish missionary provided services. After the church was destroyed because of the ban of Christianity, a parishioner called Magoemon, who used to work for the church, organized the underground structure of local Christians secretly. During the 250 years of persecution they treated the remains of the building as a sacred place for prayer.

There is a memorial stone which was made for praying to Saint Clara. The stone was blessed by Cardinal Marella, who was acting as a representative of Pope Paul VI.