Kazuhiro Sasahara met the priest suggested by his Catholic wife, a member of Kitami Church on Japan’s island of Hokkaido
One-on-one with priest leads Japanese atheist to baptism
Kazuhiro Sasahara was born into a family of the Buddhist Jodo Shinshu sect but considered him-self an atheist. Because his wife, whom he met as a student, was baptized as an infant, their wedding was held in a Catholic church and their three children were baptized as infants.
“I went to church once a year at Christmas and I didn’t say anything about the faith of my wife or children, leaving that to my wife. Besides going to church on Sundays, my wife doesn’t say much about her faith. However, compared to the beginning of our marriage, statues of Mary and crosses have multiplied all over the house,” said the 63-year-old Japanese man.
After his retirement from years as a principal of elementary and junior high schools, Sasahara engaged in after-school children’s classroom activities with the board of education until April of last year.
At that time, “I thought it might be better to have the same faith as my wife.” He did not believe in God’s existence, but as his remaining years “shortened” he wanted to go into the future “with the same attitude as my wife with whom I’ve shared life for so many years.”
His wife, a member of Kitami Church on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, suggested that he meet the parish priest, Father Masahiro Uesugi of Sapporo Diocese. Since July 2020, they have met once a month.
“At the time, I didn’t have any strong desire for baptism or to attend any study sessions,” said Sasahara. “I just wanted to talk with the priest. I talked about books I had read, movies I had seen, TV dramas, and the state of the world today, and the priest talked about his interests.”