Saint Francis
Xavier (1506-1552), Spanish Jesuit missionary, called the Apostle of
the Indies. Born near Pamplona, on April 7, 1506, Xavier was educated at
the University of Paris. In 1529, while in Paris, he met the Spanish ascetic
Ignatius of Loyola. Xavier was one of the group that joined Ignatius to
found the Order of Jesus. In 1537 Xavier became the first secretary of
the Order.
In 1542 Xavier began his work in Portuguese
India. After preaching with great success in Goa for five months,
he extended his labors to southern India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka), where
he converted tens of thousands of locals.
He then led missionary work in Malacca, where he founded many Christian
communities, in Japan, where he also succeeded and left behind a vigorous
Christian community. In 1552 he returned to Goa with a plan to introduce
Christianity into China.
To gain entrance to that country, which
was then closed to foreigners, he persuaded the Portuguese authorities
to send an embassy, of which he would be a member, to the Chinese emperor.
The embassy departed from Goa in the spring of 1552; it went no farther
than Malacca, but Xavier continued the journey alone, arriving at a small
island near Macau in August 1552. He died there December 3, 1522, after
repeated vain attempts to reach the mainland. His body is enshrined in
Goa, in the Church of the Good Jesus.
A man of remarkable energy and organizational
ability, Xavier ranks among the greatest missionaries of all times. Canonized
in 1622. The list of his principal miracles may be found in the Bull of
canonization. He was declared patron of the Orient in 1748, patron of the
Faith in 1904, and with the French nun St. Teresa of Lisieux, patron of
all missions in 1927. He is also the patron saint of sailors. His feast
day is December 3.
See: Nicolas Poussin. The
Miracle of St. Francis Xavier.
Recommended reading:
The
Book of Saints: The Lives of the Saints According to the Liturgical Calendar
by George Angelini, Victor Hoagland (Editor). Regina Press, Malhame &
Company, 1986.
365
Saints: Your Daily Guide to the Wisdom and Wonder of Their Lives
by Woodeene Koenig-Brick (Author). Harper SanFrancisco, 1995.
Set
All Afire: A Novel About Saint Francis Xavier by Louis De Wohl.
Ignatius Press, 1991.