“My Baptism: Bringing God’s Peace to Others Too”

In many Catholic communities across Asia, the sacrament of Christian initiation for adults is celebrated during the Easter Vigil. The testimony of Iwane Toshiya, published on the Japanese Catholics’ website. His encounter with the Catholic community through his wife and his daughters’ questions. “Little by little, I felt that surprising words such as those of the Beatitudes were entering my daily life.”

Tokyo (AsiaNews) - Across Asia, as in many other parts of the world, Easter night is the time for the baptism of adults who, through the catechumenate, have prepared themselves to receive the sacraments of Christian initiation. Many stories of people arrive at the baptismal font, people who, through the most diverse paths, have encountered Jesus in their lives. As a significant example, we are publishing our translation of a story published in recent weeks by cj-news.org, the website of the Japanese Catholic community. This is the story of Iwane Toshiya (39), a graphic designer living in the city of Kikuchi, in Kumamoto Prefecture. Having married Nozomi (38), a Catholic, in 2013 and father to three children, Mr Iwane was led to baptism through two decisive moments.

Illness as an opportunity to attend Mass

Iwane’s family consists of five people: alongside him are his wife Nozomi, a Catholic, their eldest daughter Haru (in Year 6), their second daughter Natsuki (in Year 2) and their youngest son Akira (1 year and 4 months old). The children have also received Catholic baptism.

The first turning point for him came when he took a leave of absence from work. Iwane had studied education at university and, after graduating, worked for an NGO that provided educational activities for children through sport. In 2020, however, due to health problems, he had to stop working for a year and a half.

Until then, as he also worked on public holidays, he was unable to attend Sunday Mass. After his leave began, partly thanks to his children’s question – “Why doesn’t Dad go to Mass?” – he started attending Mass at Kikuchi Church with the whole family. He recalls that period as follows: “Until then, Catholicism had been something for me to ‘study’, but little by little I felt it entering my daily life.”

By attending Mass and listening to the homilies of the parish priest, Father Silvano Da Roit (an Italian Xaverian missionary), he began to realise that he was finding relief from his problems time and again. “There are many self-help and philosophical books on happiness, but even reading them did not convince me. In the ‘Beatitudes’ of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7; Luke 6), it is said that the poor and the persecuted are blessed: things that are normally considered suffering are defined as ‘happiness’. At first all this surprised me greatly, but now I feel that it is truly so, and I am convinced that true happiness is found precisely there.”

A person sent to bring God’s peace

The second turning point for Iwane was rethinking his way of life, whilst facing health problems and a period of unemployment.

Having grown up in the Kyokushi district of Kikuchi City, Iwane never left Kumamoto Prefecture, either to study or to work. Both his paternal and maternal grandparents had held important roles in the local community, and his parents were teachers. As the eldest son, he felt great expectations from those around him. Whilst grateful for the environment in which he had grown up, he sometimes felt the pressure of having to ‘live up to’ those expectations.

From a young age, he had applied himself earnestly to both his studies and sport, and after getting married and entering the workforce, he harboured a strong sense of duty: “I must work hard and provide for my family,” he told himself. But looking back on his life, he recognised that he had a tendency to worry too much about the judgement of others. “I realised that this way of living is exhausting. I don’t want to be self-centred, but to become a person who feels called to convey God’s peace.”

His wife Nozomi never explicitly urged him to convert since their marriage, but he felt a certain admiration for her way of life, sustained by the Catholic faith. So, in September 2024, he began attending a catechumenate course.

Gratitude towards the church community

Iwane expresses deep gratitude that his family has been fully welcomed by the Kikuchi church community.

When they first visited ten years ago, they were the only family with young children. Today, however, the community is half Japanese and half foreign, mainly Vietnamese. There are also two young Vietnamese families, and the children socialise naturally with one another, creating a lively atmosphere. “The children grow up within the church. It is a place where one feels at ease.”

He has decided that his baptismal name will be “St Francis of Assisi”. Eager to “work for the Lord’s peace”, Mr Iwane was baptised on 4 April, during the Easter Vigil at Kikuchi Church.