On February 5, 1597, the friar was forced, with other Franciscans, Jesuits and some laymen, to take a walk through towns and villages as a public mockery. He, like the rest of the future martyrs, had one of his ears cut off. The group was made up of twenty-six men.
Finally, they arrived in Nagasaki, and were taken to Mount Nishizaka where they would be crucified. They hung Fray Felipe de Jesús from the cross, holding him by the wrists and neck, for which they used rings. The one they put on his neck exerted such pressure that Felipe began to suffocate. As he ran out of air and his strength was gone, he repeated “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” After a while, two executioners approached and plunged their spears into his body. Felipe was the first of the group to die. At that time he was 25 years old.
The fig tree did bear fruit
Saint Philip of Jesus was beatified, along with his companions in martyrdom, on September 14, 1627, and canonized on June 8, 1862.