Nuns from the Order of the Congregation of Mary Annunciation chat as they have breakfast after attending morning prayers at a convent in Nagasaki, Japan. Christianity in Japan has roots going back to the arrival of Portuguese Catholics in 1549. Many early Christians were persecuted and forced into hiding by a campaign of repression by the rulers of the time who forced Christians to publicly renounce their faith. Many continued practicing Christianity in secret as 'hidden Christians', often concealing Christian iconography in closed shrines or inconspicuous parts of buildings. In the current era, around 2 percent of the Japanese population claim Christian belief. Pope Francis is due to make a Papal visit to Japan later this year, following in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II who was the first pontiff to visit the country. | October 07, 2019 | 📷: carl_court | #GettyImagesNews ⁠#GettyReportage #Japan #Christianity #Religion #Nagasaki #Faith #Christian #Jesus #Prayer #God #Reportage⁠ #c...