Grand Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of Osaka, Osaka

The Grand Cathedral of the Virgin Mary is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Osaka. At present there are 1300 Japanese parishioners and 300 international parishioners.

Saint Francis Xavier, a well known Jesuit missionary arrived in Japan in the year 1549 and spread the Christian religion across Japan. In 1894 the cathedral of Saint Agnes was built in Tamatsukuri, Osaka. In 1945, it was razed to the ground by the bombardments of World War II. In 1949, the Cathedral of Saint Francis Xavier was built on the site to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Jesuits in Japan. The present Cathedral of the Virgin Mary dates back to 1963 and covers an area of 2,450 square meters.

The Cathedral of the Virgin Mary has a distinctive blue tiled façade and a white stone statue of the Holy Virgin. On the Northwest of the cathedral is a well called the Ecchu-I that was once the site of a palace belonging to the Warlord, Hosokawa Ecchu-no-kami Tadaoki. A wooden post nearby contains a farewell poem written by him in honor of his Christian wife, Lady Gracia ( Garashia ) Hosokawa. Her statue is located on the right in front of the church. The other statue on the left is of the Samurai Ukon Takayama who was banished to the Philippines for his Christian beliefs. The interiors are covered with religious paintings illuminated by light filtering through beautiful stained glass windows.