Oura Church

Oura Church, officially the Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan, is the oldest surviving Christian church in Japan, built by French missionaries in 1864. The Gothic-style church was constructed to commemorate the twenty-six Christians martyred in Nagasaki in 1597. It gained world attention in 1865 when a group of hidden Christians from Urakami secretly revealed their faith to the French priest here, an event known as the Discovery of the Hidden Christians. The church is a National Treasure and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region. Adjacent to Glover Garden, it anchors the historic Minamiyamate district.