Christovao Ferreira

Ferreira is a Portuguese missionary who, after thirty-three years in Japan, reportedly apostatized following the torture of 'the pit.' Ferreira does not appear until very late in the story, but his presence is felt throughout. It is his unbelievable apostasy and subsequent disappearance that prompts Rodrigues, Garrpe, and Santa Marta to travel to Japan in search of the truth regarding the famous father's whereabouts.

Ferreira finally appears in chapter seven, when Inoue arranges a meeting between Rodrigues and his former teacher. Rodrigues is shocked to discover that the mentor he once considered a formidable proponent of the Christian faith has indeed apostatized. Not only has the great father renounced the faith he tried so hard to spread across Japan, but Ferreira now no longer believes that his work produced any good. Ferreira is a broken man whose lofty dreams were dashed apart after suffering the torture...