October 2025

The beginning of autumn has brought some relief to the heat of the past summer, and.several... guests to Shinmeizan. Among them:

• Ven. HARA Onin, head of the Buddhist Temple Choenji (Nichiren School) of Kumamoto, who this month visited us twice, on October 6 and 13, also in view of his participation in the international interreligious meeting convened by the Community of Saint Egidio to be held in Rome at the end of October.

• Fr. Renato FILIPPINI, SX, who stayed with us on October 5-7.  

• The Superior General of the Xaverians, Fr. Fernando GARCIA RODRIGUEZ, accompanied by the General Consultor Franciscus Xaverius SUDARMANTO, who stayed with us on October 21-25, as part of their official visit to the Xaverians working in Japan, joined on October 24-25 by Fr. John Paul SUCCU, Regional Superior.

• A group of eight visitors from Amakusa, led by Mr. ONO Masao, who visited us on October 27.

• Mr. SAKATA Akira, a renowned artist of hanga (wood-block prints) an old time friend of Shinmeizan , who visited us on October 30, accompanied by his wife and two daughters.

Activities of interreligious dialogue

• Sr. Maria De Giorgi represented Shinmeizan invited to the international interreligious meeting organized by the Community of Saint Egidio, which this year was held in Rome on October 26-28.  Maria also assisted during the meeting Ven. HARA Onin, Head of the Buddhist temple Choenji of Kumamoto (Nichiren School) and Bishop Alexis SHIRAHAMA Mitsuru of Hiroshima, both invited to take part in the event.

• Also Ven. FURUKAWA Ryuji, Head of the buddhist temple Seimeizan-Schweitzer of Tamana (Kumamoto Pref.), accompanied by his sister Sayuri, have been invited to take part in the meeting, participating in the symposium which dealt with the death penalty. Their father, Ven. FURUKAWA Tairyu, cooperated in the foundation of Shinmeizan Center for interreligious dialogue, which, from the very beginning, has had very close ties of dialogue and friendship with the Seimeizan-Schweitzer temple.

•  Sr. Maria, as a Consultor to the Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, also participated in the meeting called by the same on the evening of October 28^th to celebrate the 60^th anniversary of the 2^nd Vatican Council’s Declaration Nostra Aetate on the relations of the Catholic Church to the other religions, held at the Vatican, as well as in the event held on the following day in St. Peter’s square, organized by the same Dicastery, where Maria also had the chance to meet the Holy Father Leo 14^th personally. . . inviting him to come to Japan!