Alessandro Valignano

Who was Alessandro Valignano?

Alessandro Valignano, was a Jesuit missionary born in Chieti, part of the Kingdom of Naples, who helped supervise the introduction of Catholicism to the Far East, and especially to Japan.

Valignano joined the Society of Jesus in 1566, and was sent to East Asia in 1573. The nomination of a Neapolitan to supervise Portugal-dominated Asia was at the time quite controversial, and his nationality, as well as his adaptationist and expansionist policies, led to many conflicts with mission personnel.