Francis Xavier
Encyclopedia
Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta (7 April 1506 – 3 December 1552) was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary
born in the Kingdom of Navarre
(currently Spain
-France
) and co-founder of the Society of Jesus
. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola
and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre
in 1534. He led an extensive mission into Asia, mainly in the Portuguese Empire
of the time. He was influential in the spreading and upkeep of Catholicism most notably in India
, but also ventured into Japan
, Borneo
, the Moluccas, and other areas which had thus far not been visited by Christian missionaries. In these areas, being a pioneer and struggling to learn the local languages in the face of opposition, he had less success than he had enjoyed in India.
Francis Xavier was born in the family castle of Xavier, currently Spain
(Xabier, toponymic name whose origin comes from "etxaberri" meaning "new house" in Basque
) in the Kingdom of Navarre
on 7 April 1506 according to a family register. He was born to an aristocratic family of the Kingdom of Navarre, the youngest son of Juan de Jaso, privy counsellor to King John III of Navarre (Jean d'Albret), and Doña Maria de Azpilcueta y Aznárez, sole heiress of two noble Navarrese families. He was thus related to the great theologian and philosopher Martín de Azpilcueta
. Following the Basque surname custom of the time, he was named after his toponym ; his name is written Francisco de Xavier (Latin Xaverius) in the Spanish literary tradition. Notwithstanding different interpretations on his first language, no evidence suggests that Xavier's mother tongue was other than Basque
, as stated by himself and confirmed by the sociolinguistic environment of the time, while he may have got in touch with Romance early due to the social status of his family, close to the royalty.
In 1512 under Ferdinand the Catholic as King of the first political unit referred to as Spain, joint Spanish troops from both the Castilian
and the Aragonese
commanded by Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, second Duke of Alba first invaded partially the Kingdom of Navarre. Three years later, Francis' father dies (1515) when he was only nine years old. In 1516, after a failed Navarrese-French attempt to expel the Spanish invaders off the kingdom, attempt in which Saint Francis' brothers had taken part, the Spanish Castilian kingdom Governor, Cardinal Cisneros, ordered family lands to be confiscated, the demolition of the outer wall, the gates and two towers of the family castle, the moat was filled, and the height of the keep was reduced in half,. Only the family residence inside the castle was left. For the following years with his family, till he left for studies in Paris in 1525, Saint Fancis' life in the Kingdom of Navarre, then partially occupied by Spain, was surrounded by a war that lasted over 18 years, ending with the Kingdom of Navarre partition into two territories, and the Kings of Navarre and some loyalists abandoning the south and moving to the north part of the Kingdom of Navarre (currently France).
In 1525 Francis Xavier went to study at the Collège Sainte-Barbe
in Paris. There he met Ignatius of Loyola
, who became his faithful companion, and Pierre Favre. While at the time he seemed destined for academic success in the line of his noble family, Xavier turned to a life of Catholic missionary service. Together with Loyola and five others, he founded the Society of Jesus
: on the 15 August 1534, in a small chapel in Montmartre
, they made a vow of poverty, chastity and obedience, and also vowed to convert the Muslims in the Middle East (or, failing this, carry out the wishes of the Pope). Francis Xavier went, with the rest of the members of the newly papal-approved Jesuit order, to Venice, Italy, to be ordained to the priesthood, which took place on 24 June 1537. Towards the end of October, the seven companions reached Bologna, where they worked in the local hospital. After that, he served for a brief period in Rome as Ignatius' secretary.
, where the king believed that Christian values were eroding among the Portuguese. After successive appeals to the Pope asking for missionaries for the East Indies
under the Padroado
agreement, John III was enthusiastically advised by Diogo de Gouveia
, rector of the Collège Sainte-Barbe, to draw the newly graduated youngsters that would establish the Society of Jesus.
Leaving Rome in 1540, Francis took with him a breviary, a catechism and a Latin book (De Instituione bene vivendi) written by the Croatian humanist Marko Marulic
that had become popular in the counter-reformation. The breviary and the book by Marulic accompanied Xavier on all of his voyages, and was used as source material for much of his preaching. According to a 1549 letters of F. Balthasar Gago in Goa, it was the only book that Francis read or studied.
on 7 April 1541 along with two other Jesuits and the new Viceroy
Martim Afonso de Sousa
, on board the Santiago. From August until March 1542 he remained in Mozambique
, having reached Goa
, then capital of Portuguese India
's on May 6, 1542, and also visiting Vasai. There he was invited to head Saint Paul's College
, a pioneer seminary
for the education of secular priests that became the first jesuit headquarters in Asia, but soon departed, having spent the following three years in India.
In 1542, he left for his first missionary activity among the Paravas
, katesar/kadaiyar Pattamkattiyar
s(head of fishery coast) and mukkuvars, pearl-fishers along the east coast of southern India, North of Cape Comorin (or Sup Santaz). He built nearly 40 churches along the coast with the fund of local headmen and king, out of this St. Stephen's Church, Kombuthurai find mention in his letters dated 1544.He lived in a sea cave in Manapad
, intensively catechizing paravas
and other children for three months in 1544. He then focused on converting the king of Travancore
to Christianity and also visited Ceylon (now named Sri Lanka
). Dissatisfied with the results of his activity, he set his sights eastward in 1545 and planned a missionary journey to Makassar
on the island of Celebes
(today's Indonesia
).
As the first Jesuit in India, Francis had difficulty procuring success for his missionary trips. Instead of trying to approach Christianity through the traditions of the local religion and creating a nativised church as latter fellow Jesuit Matteo Ricci
did in China, he was eager for change . His successors, such as de Nobili, Ricci, and Beschi, attempted to convert the noblemen first as a means to influence more people, while Francis had initially interacted most with the lower classes (later though, in Japan, Francis changed tack by paying tribute to the Emperor and seeking an audience with him). However Francis' mission was primarily, as ordered by King John III, to restore Christianity among the Portuguese settlers. Many of the Portuguese sailors had had illegitimate relationships with Indian women (miscegenation
); Francis struggled to restore moral relations, and catechized many illegitimate children.
in October of that year and waiting three months in vain for a ship to Makassar, he gave up the goal of his voyage and left Malacca on 1 January 1546, for Ambon Island
where he stayed until mid-June. He then visited other Maluku Islands
including Ternate
and Morotai
. Shortly after Easter, 1546, he returned to Ambon Island and later Malacca.
Francis Xavier's work initiated permanent change in eastern Indonesia, and he was known as the 'Apostle of the Indies' where in 1546-1547 he worked in the Maluku Islands among the people of Ambon, Ternate, and Morotai (or Moro), and laid the foundations for a permanent mission.
After he left the Maluku Islands, others carried on his work and by the 1560s there were 10,000 Catholics in the area, mostly on Ambon. By the 1590s there were 50,000 to 60,000.
. Anjiro had heard from Francis in 1545 and had travelled from Kagoshima to Malacca with the purpose of meeting with him. Having been charged with murder, Anjiro had fled Japan. He told Francis extensively about his former life and the customs and culture of his beloved homeland. Anjiro helped Xavier as a mediator and translator for the mission to Japan that now seemed much more possible. "I asked [Anjiro] whether the Japanese would become Christians if I went with him to this country, and he replied that they would not do so immediately, but would first ask me many questions and see what I knew. Above all, they would want to see whether my life corresponded with my teaching."
Anjiro became the first Japanese Christian and adopted the name of 'Paulo de Santa Fe'.
Europeans had already come to Japan: the Portuguese had already landed in 1543 on the island of Tanegashima, where they introduced the first firearms to Japan.
He returned to India in January 1548. The next 15 months were occupied with various journeys and administrative measures in India. Then, due to displeasure at what he considered un-Christian life and manners on the part of the Portuguese which impeded missionary work, he travelled from the South into East Asia. He left Goa on 15 April 1549, stopped at Malacca and visited Canton
. He was accompanied by Anjiro, two other Japanese men, the father Cosme de Torrès
and Brother João Fernandes. He had taken with him presents for the "King of Japan" since he was intending to introduce himself as the Apostolic Nuncio.
Shortly before leaving he had issued a famous instruction to F. Gaspar Barazeuz who was leaving to go to Ormuz (a kingdom on an island in the Persian Gulf, now part of Iran), that he should mix with sinners:
Francis Xavier reached Japan on 27 July 1549, with Anjiro and three other Jesuits, but he was not permitted to enter any port his ship arrived at until 15 August when he went ashore at Kagoshima, the principal port of the province of Satsuma
on the island of Kyūshū
. As a representative of the Portuguese king, he was received in a friendly manner. Shimazu Takahisa (1514–1571), daimyo of Satsuma, gave a friendly reception to Francis on September 29, 1549, but in the following year he forbade the conversion of his subjects to Christianity under penalty of death; Christians in Kagoshima could not be given any catechism in the following years. The Portuguese missionary Pedro de Alcacova would later write in 1554:
Hosted by Anjiro's family until October 1550. From October to December, 1550, he resided in Yamaguchi
. Shortly before Christmas, he left for Kyoto
but failed to meet with the Emperor. He returned to Yamaguchi in March, 1551, where he was permitted to preach by the daimyo
of the province. However, lacking fluency in the Japanese language
, he had to limit himself to reading aloud the translation of a catechism
.
Francis was the first Jesuit to go to Japan as a missionary. He brought with him paintings of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child. These paintings were used to help teach the Japanese about Christianity. There was a huge language barrier as Japanese was unlike other languages the missionaries had previously encountered. For a long time Francis struggled to learn the language. Artwork continued to play a role in Francis’ teachings in Asia.
For forty-five years the Jesuits were the only missionaries in Asia, but the Franciscans also began proselytizing in Asia as well. Christian missionaries were later forced into exile, along with their assistants. Some were able to stay behind, however Christianity was then kept underground as to not be persecuted.
The Japanese people were not easily converted; many of the people were already Buddhist or Shinto. Francis tried to combat the disposition of some of the Japanese that a God who had created everything, including evil, could not be good. The concept of Hell was also a struggle; the Japanese were bothered by the idea of their ancestors living in Hell. Despite Francis’ different religion, he felt that they were good people, much like Europeans, and could be converted.
Xavier was welcomed by the Shingon monks since he used the word Dainichi
for the Christian God; attempting to adapt the concept to local traditions. As Xavier learned more about the religious nuances of the word, he changed to Deusu from the Latin and Portuguese Deus. The monks later realized that Xavier was preaching a rival religion and grew more aggressive towards his attempts at conversion.
.jpg)
With the passage of time, his sojourn in Japan could be considered somewhat fruitful as attested by congregations established in Hirado, Yamaguchi and Bungo
. Xavier worked for more than two years in Japan and saw his successor-Jesuits established. He then decided to return to India. Historians debate the exact path he returned back by, but due to evidence attributed to the captain of his ship, he may have travelled through Tanegeshima and Minato, and avoided Kagoshima due to the hostility of the Daimyo. During his trip, a tempest forced him to stop on an island near Guangzhou
, China
where he saw the rich merchant
Diogo Pereira, an old friend from Cochin, who showed him a letter from Portuguese being held prisoners in Guangzhou asking for a Portuguese ambassador to talk to the Chinese Emperor in their favor. Later during the voyage, he stopped at Malacca on 27 December 1551, and was back in Goa by January, 1552.
On 17 April he set sail with Diogo Pereira, leaving Goa on board the Santa Cruz for China. He introduced himself as Apostolic Nuncio and Pereira as ambassador of the King of Portugal. Shortly thereafter, he realized that he had forgotten his testimonial letters as an Apostolic Nuncio. Back in Malacca, he was confronted by the capitão Álvaro de Ataíde da Gama who now had total control over the harbor. The capitão refused to recognize his title of Nuncio, asked Pereira to resign from his title of ambassador, named a new crew for the ship and demanded the gifts for the Chinese Emperor be left in Malacca.
In late August, 1552, the Santa Cruz reached the Chinese island of Shangchuan, 14 km away from the southern coast of mainland China, near Taishan
, Guangdong
, 200 km south-west of what later became Hong Kong
. At this time, he was only accompanied by a Jesuit student, Álvaro Ferreira, a Chinese man called António and a Malabar
servant called Christopher. Around mid-November he sent a letter saying that a man had agreed to take him to the mainland in exchange for a large sum of money. Having sent back Álvaro Ferreira, he remained alone with António. He died at Sancian
from a fever on the 3 December 1552, while he was waiting for a boat that would agree to take him to mainland China.
, a Jesuit high school in Hong Kong. His incorrupt
body was taken from the island in February 1553 and was temporarily buried in St. Paul's church
in Malacca
on 22 March 1553. An open grave in the church now marks the place of Xavier's burial. Pereira came back from Goa, removed the corpse shortly after 15 April 1553, and moved it to his house. On 11 December 1553, Xavier's body was shipped to Goa. The body is now in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, where it was placed in a glass container encased in a silver casket on 2 December 1637.
The right forearm
, which Xavier used to bless and baptize his converts, was detached by Pr. Gen. Claudio Acquaviva
in 1614. It has been displayed since in a silver reliquary at the main Jesuit church in Rome, Il Gesù.
Another of Xavier's arm bones was brought to Macau
where it was kept in a silver reliquary
. The relic was destined for Japan
but religious persecution there persuaded the church to keep it in Macau's Cathedral of St. Paul. It was subsequently moved to St. Joseph's
and in 1978 to the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier on Coloane Island
. More recently the relic was moved to St. Joseph's Seminary and the Sacred Art Museum.
St. Francis Xavier is noteworthy for his missionary work, both as organizer and as pioneer. He is said to have converted more people than anyone else has done since Saint Paul. By his compromises in India with the Christians of St. Thomas, he developed the Jesuit missionary methods along lines that subsequently became a successful blueprint for his order to follow. His efforts left a significant impression upon the missionary history of India and, as one of the first Jesuit missionaries to the East Indies
, his work is of fundamental significance to Christians in the propagation of Christianity in China and Japan. India still has numerous Jesuit missions, and many more schools. There has been less of an impact in Japan. Following the persecutions of Daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi
and the subsequent closing of Japan to foreigners, the Christians of Japan were forced to go underground and developed an independent Christian culture.
Pope Benedict XVI
said of both Ignatius of Loyola
and Francis Xavier: "not only their history which was interwoven for many years from Paris and Rome, but a unique desire — a unique passion, it could be said — moved and sustained them through different human events: the passion to give to God-Trinity a glory always greater and to work for the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ to the peoples who had been ignored."
As the foremost saint from Navarre and one of the main Jesuit saints, he is much venerated in Spain and the Hispanic countries where Francisco Javier or Javier are common male given names.
The alternative spelling Xavier is also popular in Portugal
, Brazil, France, Belgium, and southern Italy
. In India
, the spelling Xavier is almost always used, and the name is quite common among Christians, especially in the southern states of Tamil Nadu
, Kerala
, Karnataka
and more common in Goa
. In Goa
, Xavier besides being a surname, is also seen as the suffix in the names Francisco Xavier, António Xavier, João Xavier, Caetano Xavier, Domingos Xavier et cetera, which were very common till quiet recently. In Austria
and Bavaria
the name is spelled as Xaver and often used in addition to Francis as Franz-Xaver. In English speaking countries, "Xavier" is one of the few names starting with X, and until recently was likely to follow "Francis"; in the last decade, however, "Xavier" by itself has become more popular than "Francis", and is now one of the hundred most common male baby names in the US.
Many churches all over the world have been named in honor of Xavier, often founded by Jesuits. One notable church is the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier
in Dyersville, Iowa
. The Javierada is an annual pilgrimage from Pamplona to Xavier instituted in the 1940s.
The Novena of Grace
is a popular devotion to Francis Xavier, typically prayed on the nine days before 3 December.
One of his relatives is John Sevier
. The Sevier family name originated from the name Xavier.
He has been depicted in various artworks, including Rubens
' painting "St Francis Xavier raising the dead", which the Dutch master painted for a Jesuit church in Antwerp, and in which he depicted one of St Francis' many alleged miracles (in this case a resurrection).
. He was beatified by Paul V on 25 October 1619, and was canonized by Gregory XV on 12 March (12 April) 1622, at the same time as Ignatius Loyola. He is considered to be a patron saint of Roman Catholic missionaries in foreign lands. His feast day is 3 December.
The feast of Saint Francis Xavier is celebrated on 3 December, although it is celebrated sometimes on 2 December. It is a large celebration in Velha Goa, Goa
and beyond. In Goa
St. Francis Xavier is called popularly as Saib or Gõi-cho Saib (Master of Goa) and the place Velha Goa, is also called Saibachem Goem (St. Francis Xavier's Goa). In the year 2009, the was Sam Fransikachea Visvaxiponnachea Dekhin, Jezu-Noketra Bhaxen Porzollum-ia, which translates from Konkani into English as 'Inspired by the faithfulness of Saint Francis, let us shine like Jesus, the Star', probably based on the year's pastoral theme of the Archdiocese of Goa e Damão Noketram Bhaxen, Sonvsarant Porzollum-ia which translates into English as 'Shine like Stars, in the World'. The theme of the feast of Saint Francis Xavier, draws light from the Universal Church's declaration of 2009-10 as the Year for Priests. Similarly, the celebrations also reflected on the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman's focus on the youth that year. A huge pandal was erected in the front of the Bom Jesus Basilica
, with almost eight to ten novena Masses daily mainly in Konkani, besides English, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Portuguese. The Archbishop, concelebrates the Solemn High Mass, with other bishops and numerous priests. In 2009, Bishop of Belgaum, Rt Rev Peter Machado will be the main celebrant.
In Velha Goa (Old Goa), Goa
, India the novenas in the year 2011 began on the 24th November. The theme of this year's feast was Mon'xa Xrixtticho Korar Jieum-ia, Sam Fransisk Xavierak Man Dium -Ya, based on the Archdiocese of Goa and Damão's archbishops pastoral letter
, Mon'xa Xrixtticho Korar, Deva Mogacho Rupkar which in English roughly means "Covenant between Man and Nature Divine Love's Manifestation". Masses are being held, as in the last few decades, at the adr (front) of the Bom Jesus Basilica
, due to lack of space within the Basilica. A large makeshift pandal has been put. It has a stage, where the altar is placed, and a background, on which the year's theme and St. Francis Xavier's picture has been prominently displayed. This year, on every Novena day, an element of nature is taken, like, water, land, fire, ether, etc. and a sermon is given on our day to day activities interaction with these elements and sometimes a relationship with the life of St. Francis Xavier is given.
This year besides the Masses, a programme called deepen your faith was conducted daily from the 24th November till the 1st December, after the 6 PM Novena Mass of St. Francis Xavier. It dealt with various Catholic
teachings on the [Bible]] testament-wise, Holy Eucharist, Confessions
and finally will conclude with the life of St. Francis Xavier. Daily masses are being held at 6, 7.15, 8.15, 9.30, 10.30 in the mornings and at 1545 hours (3.45 PM), 5.15 and 6.15 in the afternoon and evening. The feast day masses on the third of December will be held at 4 AM, 5 AM, 6 AM, 7 AM, 8 AM, 9 AM, 10.30 AM, 12 noon, 3 PM (Spanish), 4 PM, 5 PM and 6 PM. The large number of masses are due to the large number of devotees who come from far and wide, cutting across religions. The 10.30 AM mass is the solemn feast high Mass
, which will most likely be celebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio
to India, Archbishop Salvatore Penacchio. This year masses are being held mainly in Konkanni, besides English, Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Portuguese and Spanish languages, but most, if not all the Masses, conclude with the recessional hymn
Sam Fransisku Xaviera, Vhodda Kunvra (In English it roughly translates Our Saint Francis Xavier, Great Prince). A novena prayer to St. Francis Xavier is also held before the Mass generally. The mass at 6 PM on the feast day is celebrated by the Jesuits over the last few years.
Saint Francis Xavier's relics are kept in a silver casket, elevated inside the Bom Jesus Basilica
and are exposed (brought at ground level) when the Archbishop of Goa e Damão decides. Generally it is every ten years, but is not a compulsion. The last exposition was held in 2004 and was held for about one month during December. Bones of Saint Francis Xavier are also found in the Espirito Santo (Holy Spirit) Church, Margão
and in Sanv Fransiku Xavierachi Igorz (Church of St. Francis Xavier), Batpal, Canacona
, Goa
.
Numerous people from Goa, India (mainly from the southern Indian states), south Asia and beyond visit Goa to attend the feast.
Other pilgrimage centres include Saint Francis Xavier's birthplace in Navarra, Church of Il Gesu, Rome
, Malacca (where he was buried for 2 years, before being brought to Goa), Sancian (Place of death) etc.
The Javierada is an annual pilgrimage from Pamplona to Xavier instituted in the 1940s.
, Velha Goa, the place where the relics of St. Francis Xavier are kept.
Francis Xavier requested the foundation of the Goa Inquisition
, but he never saw it happen; it commenced eight years after his death. On May 16, 1545, Xavier wrote to the King of Portugal to establish the Inquisition in Goa: "The second necessity for the Christians is that Your Majesty establish the Holy Inquisition in Goa because there are many who live according to the Jewish Law and according to the Mohammedan Sect, without any fear of God or shame of the World. And since there are many Hindus who are spread all over the fortresses, there is the need of the Holy Inquisition, and of many preachers. Your Majesty should provide such necessary things for your loyal and faithful subjects in the Indies."
Here are some other quotes from him:
"These children, I trust heartily, by the grace of God, will be much better than their fathers. They show an ardent love for the Divine law, and an extraordinary zeal for learning our holy religion and imparting it to others. Their hatred for idolatry is marvellous. They get into feuds with the heathen about it, and whenever their own parents practise it, they reproach them and come off to tell me at once. Whenever I hear of any act of idolatrous worship, I go to the place with a large band of these children, who very soon load the devil with a greater amount of insult and abuse than he has lately received of honor and worship from their parents, relations, and acquaintances. The children run at the idols, upset them, dash them down, break them to pieces, spit on them, trample on them, kick them about, and in short heap on them every possible outrage." (1543)http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1543xavier1.html
"When I have finished baptizing the people, I order them to destroy the huts in which they keep their idols; and I have them break the statues of their idols into tiny pieces, since they are now Christians. I could never come to an end describing to you the great consolation which fills my soul when I see idols being destroyed by the hands of those who had been idolaters."
"Following the Baptisms, the new Christians return to their homes and come back with their wives and families to be in their turn also prepared for Baptism. After all have been baptised, I order that everywhere the temples of the false Gods be pulled down and idols broken. I know not how to describe in words the joy I feel before the spectacle of pulling down and destroying the idols by the very people who formerly worshipped them."
"I order everywhere the temples pulled down and all idols broken. I know not how to describe in words the joy I feel before the spectacle of pulling down and destroying the idols."
"When the boys informed him that some had made an idol, he went with them and had it broken into a thousand pieces. If in spite of all his advice someone persisted in making idols, he would have them punished by the Patingatis (Parava headsman) by exile.... One day when he heard that idols had been worshipped in the house of a Christian, he ordered the hut to be burnt down as a warning to others." (Silva Rego, Vol. I. p. 158)
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
born in the Kingdom of Navarre
Kingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....
(currently Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
-France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) and co-founder of the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
in 1534. He led an extensive mission into Asia, mainly in the Portuguese Empire
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
of the time. He was influential in the spreading and upkeep of Catholicism most notably in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, but also ventured into Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, the Moluccas, and other areas which had thus far not been visited by Christian missionaries. In these areas, being a pioneer and struggling to learn the local languages in the face of opposition, he had less success than he had enjoyed in India.
Early life
Javier, Spain
Javier is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain with a population of 112.-External links:*...
(Xabier, toponymic name whose origin comes from "etxaberri" meaning "new house" in Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
) in the Kingdom of Navarre
Kingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....
on 7 April 1506 according to a family register. He was born to an aristocratic family of the Kingdom of Navarre, the youngest son of Juan de Jaso, privy counsellor to King John III of Navarre (Jean d'Albret), and Doña Maria de Azpilcueta y Aznárez, sole heiress of two noble Navarrese families. He was thus related to the great theologian and philosopher Martín de Azpilcueta
Martín de Azpilcueta
Martín de Azpilcueta , or Doctor Navarrus, was an important Spanish canonist and theologian in his time, and an early economist, the first to develop monetarist theory.-Life:...
. Following the Basque surname custom of the time, he was named after his toponym ; his name is written Francisco de Xavier (Latin Xaverius) in the Spanish literary tradition. Notwithstanding different interpretations on his first language, no evidence suggests that Xavier's mother tongue was other than Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
, as stated by himself and confirmed by the sociolinguistic environment of the time, while he may have got in touch with Romance early due to the social status of his family, close to the royalty.
In 1512 under Ferdinand the Catholic as King of the first political unit referred to as Spain, joint Spanish troops from both the Castilian
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
and the Aragonese
Kingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain...
commanded by Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, second Duke of Alba first invaded partially the Kingdom of Navarre. Three years later, Francis' father dies (1515) when he was only nine years old. In 1516, after a failed Navarrese-French attempt to expel the Spanish invaders off the kingdom, attempt in which Saint Francis' brothers had taken part, the Spanish Castilian kingdom Governor, Cardinal Cisneros, ordered family lands to be confiscated, the demolition of the outer wall, the gates and two towers of the family castle, the moat was filled, and the height of the keep was reduced in half,. Only the family residence inside the castle was left. For the following years with his family, till he left for studies in Paris in 1525, Saint Fancis' life in the Kingdom of Navarre, then partially occupied by Spain, was surrounded by a war that lasted over 18 years, ending with the Kingdom of Navarre partition into two territories, and the Kings of Navarre and some loyalists abandoning the south and moving to the north part of the Kingdom of Navarre (currently France).
In 1525 Francis Xavier went to study at the Collège Sainte-Barbe
Collège Sainte-Barbe
The Collège Sainte-Barbe is a former school in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France.The Collège Sainte-Barbe was founded in 1460 on Montagne Sainte-Geneviève by Pierre Antoine Victor de Lanneau, teacher of religious studies...
in Paris. There he met Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
, who became his faithful companion, and Pierre Favre. While at the time he seemed destined for academic success in the line of his noble family, Xavier turned to a life of Catholic missionary service. Together with Loyola and five others, he founded the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
: on the 15 August 1534, in a small chapel in Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
, they made a vow of poverty, chastity and obedience, and also vowed to convert the Muslims in the Middle East (or, failing this, carry out the wishes of the Pope). Francis Xavier went, with the rest of the members of the newly papal-approved Jesuit order, to Venice, Italy, to be ordained to the priesthood, which took place on 24 June 1537. Towards the end of October, the seven companions reached Bologna, where they worked in the local hospital. After that, he served for a brief period in Rome as Ignatius' secretary.
Missionary work
Francis Xavier devoted much of his life to missions in Asia, after being appointed by King John III of Portugal to take charge as Apostolic Nuncio in Portuguese IndiaPortuguese India
The Portuguese Viceroyalty of India , later the Portuguese State of India , was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de...
, where the king believed that Christian values were eroding among the Portuguese. After successive appeals to the Pope asking for missionaries for the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
under the Padroado
Padroado
The Padroado , was an arrangement between the Holy See and the kingdom of Portugal, affirmed by a series of treaties, by which the Vatican delegated to the kings of Spain and Portugal the administration of the local Churches...
agreement, John III was enthusiastically advised by Diogo de Gouveia
Diogo de Gouveia
Diogo de Gouveia , known as Diogo de Gouveia, the Elder to distinguish him from contemporary homonyms such as his nephew, was a leading Portuguese teacher, theologian, diplomat and humanist during the Renaissance...
, rector of the Collège Sainte-Barbe, to draw the newly graduated youngsters that would establish the Society of Jesus.
Leaving Rome in 1540, Francis took with him a breviary, a catechism and a Latin book (De Instituione bene vivendi) written by the Croatian humanist Marko Marulic
Marko Marulic
Marko Marulić |Split]], 18 August 1450 – Split, 5 January 1524) was a Croatian national poet and Christian humanist, known as the Crown of the Croatian Medieval Age and the father of the Croatian Renaissance. He signed his works as Marko Marulić Splićanin , Marko Pečenić, Marcus Marulus ...
that had become popular in the counter-reformation. The breviary and the book by Marulic accompanied Xavier on all of his voyages, and was used as source material for much of his preaching. According to a 1549 letters of F. Balthasar Gago in Goa, it was the only book that Francis read or studied.
Goa and India
He left LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
on 7 April 1541 along with two other Jesuits and the new Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
Martim Afonso de Sousa
Martim Afonso de Sousa
Martim Afonso de Sousa was a Portuguese fidalgo and explorer.Born in Vila Viçosa, he was commander of the first official Portuguese expedition into mainland Brazil...
, on board the Santiago. From August until March 1542 he remained in Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, having reached Goa
Old Goa
Old Goa or Velha Goa is a historical city in North Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. The city was constructed by the Bijapur Sultanate in the 15th century, and served as capital of Portuguese India from the 16th century until its abandonment in the 18th century due to plague...
, then capital of Portuguese India
Portuguese India
The Portuguese Viceroyalty of India , later the Portuguese State of India , was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de...
's on May 6, 1542, and also visiting Vasai. There he was invited to head Saint Paul's College
Saint Paul's College, Goa
St. Paul's College was a Jesuit college founded circa 1542 at Old Goa. It was once the main Jesuit institution in India. It housed the first printing press in India, having published the first books in 1556...
, a pioneer seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
for the education of secular priests that became the first jesuit headquarters in Asia, but soon departed, having spent the following three years in India.
Paravas
Parava or Paravar , also known as Parathavar , Bharathar , Bharathakula Pandyar or Bharathakula Kshathriyar is a caste in southern India that in ancient times were subordinate Tamil chiefs and coastal fishermen, as well as, according at least to one modern writer, "ferocious...
, katesar/kadaiyar Pattamkattiyar
Pattamkattiyar
Pattamkattiyar or Pattangkattiar is a small caste in the Tirunelveli tuticorin district and ramanathapuram of Tamil Nadu, India.They are called as katesar pattamkattiyars of tirunelveli and tuticorin whereas they are called as Kadaiyar pattamkattimar of ramanathapuram.The have seven sub-divisions...
s(head of fishery coast) and mukkuvars, pearl-fishers along the east coast of southern India, North of Cape Comorin (or Sup Santaz). He built nearly 40 churches along the coast with the fund of local headmen and king, out of this St. Stephen's Church, Kombuthurai find mention in his letters dated 1544.He lived in a sea cave in Manapad
Manapad
Manapad is a coastal village in India, 60 km from Tuticorin and 18 km south of Tiruchendur, and one of the first places to be visited by St. Francis Xavier in 1542 when he initiated missionary activity on the Fishery coast. Francis Xavier is said to have lived and prayed in a cavern on...
, intensively catechizing paravas
Paravas
Parava or Paravar , also known as Parathavar , Bharathar , Bharathakula Pandyar or Bharathakula Kshathriyar is a caste in southern India that in ancient times were subordinate Tamil chiefs and coastal fishermen, as well as, according at least to one modern writer, "ferocious...
and other children for three months in 1544. He then focused on converting the king of Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
to Christianity and also visited Ceylon (now named Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
). Dissatisfied with the results of his activity, he set his sights eastward in 1545 and planned a missionary journey to Makassar
Makassar
Makassar, is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably...
on the island of Celebes
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
(today's Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
).
As the first Jesuit in India, Francis had difficulty procuring success for his missionary trips. Instead of trying to approach Christianity through the traditions of the local religion and creating a nativised church as latter fellow Jesuit Matteo Ricci
Ricci
Ricci is an Italian surname, and can also be a shortened version of Riccardo, as a first name and may refer to:-Surname:* Christie Ricci, American wrestler* Christina Ricci, American actress* Fausto Ricci, Italian motorcycle racer...
did in China, he was eager for change . His successors, such as de Nobili, Ricci, and Beschi, attempted to convert the noblemen first as a means to influence more people, while Francis had initially interacted most with the lower classes (later though, in Japan, Francis changed tack by paying tribute to the Emperor and seeking an audience with him). However Francis' mission was primarily, as ordered by King John III, to restore Christianity among the Portuguese settlers. Many of the Portuguese sailors had had illegitimate relationships with Indian women (miscegenation
Miscegenation
Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....
); Francis struggled to restore moral relations, and catechized many illegitimate children.
Indonesia
After arriving in Portuguese MalaccaMalacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
in October of that year and waiting three months in vain for a ship to Makassar, he gave up the goal of his voyage and left Malacca on 1 January 1546, for Ambon Island
Ambon Island
Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...
where he stayed until mid-June. He then visited other Maluku Islands
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
including Ternate
Ternate
Ternate is an island in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It is located off the west coast of the larger island of Halmahera, the center of the powerful former Sultanate of Ternate....
and Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
. Shortly after Easter, 1546, he returned to Ambon Island and later Malacca.
After he left the Maluku Islands, others carried on his work and by the 1560s there were 10,000 Catholics in the area, mostly on Ambon. By the 1590s there were 50,000 to 60,000.
Japan
In Malacca in December, 1547, Francis Xavier met a Japanese named AnjiroAnjiro
or , later known as Paulo de Santa Fé, was a well known Japanese interpreter from Satsuma Province. After committing a murder, he fled to the province of Goa, where he met Saint Francis Xavier and returned to Japan with him as an interpreter...
. Anjiro had heard from Francis in 1545 and had travelled from Kagoshima to Malacca with the purpose of meeting with him. Having been charged with murder, Anjiro had fled Japan. He told Francis extensively about his former life and the customs and culture of his beloved homeland. Anjiro helped Xavier as a mediator and translator for the mission to Japan that now seemed much more possible. "I asked [Anjiro] whether the Japanese would become Christians if I went with him to this country, and he replied that they would not do so immediately, but would first ask me many questions and see what I knew. Above all, they would want to see whether my life corresponded with my teaching."
Anjiro became the first Japanese Christian and adopted the name of 'Paulo de Santa Fe'.
Europeans had already come to Japan: the Portuguese had already landed in 1543 on the island of Tanegashima, where they introduced the first firearms to Japan.
He returned to India in January 1548. The next 15 months were occupied with various journeys and administrative measures in India. Then, due to displeasure at what he considered un-Christian life and manners on the part of the Portuguese which impeded missionary work, he travelled from the South into East Asia. He left Goa on 15 April 1549, stopped at Malacca and visited Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
. He was accompanied by Anjiro, two other Japanese men, the father Cosme de Torrès
Cosme de Torrès
Cosme de Torres , a Spanish Jesuit of the sixteenth century, was one of the first Christian missionaries in Japan. He was born in Valencia and died in Amakusa, an island now in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.-Early Life :...
and Brother João Fernandes. He had taken with him presents for the "King of Japan" since he was intending to introduce himself as the Apostolic Nuncio.
Shortly before leaving he had issued a famous instruction to F. Gaspar Barazeuz who was leaving to go to Ormuz (a kingdom on an island in the Persian Gulf, now part of Iran), that he should mix with sinners:
And if you wish to bring forth much fruit, both for yourselves and for your neighbors, and to live consoled, converse with sinners, making them unburden themselves to you. These are the living books by which you are to study, both for your preaching and for your own consolation. I do not say that you should not on occasion read written books . . . to support what you say against vices with authorities from the Holy Scriptures and examples from the lives of the saints.
Francis Xavier reached Japan on 27 July 1549, with Anjiro and three other Jesuits, but he was not permitted to enter any port his ship arrived at until 15 August when he went ashore at Kagoshima, the principal port of the province of Satsuma
Satsuma Province
was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Its abbreviation is Sasshū .During the Sengoku Period, Satsuma was a fief of the Shimazu daimyo, who ruled much of southern Kyūshū from their castle at Kagoshima city.In 1871, with the...
on the island of Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
. As a representative of the Portuguese king, he was received in a friendly manner. Shimazu Takahisa (1514–1571), daimyo of Satsuma, gave a friendly reception to Francis on September 29, 1549, but in the following year he forbade the conversion of his subjects to Christianity under penalty of death; Christians in Kagoshima could not be given any catechism in the following years. The Portuguese missionary Pedro de Alcacova would later write in 1554:
In Cangoxima, the first place Father Master Francisco stopped at, there is a good number of Christians, although there is no one there to teach them; the shortage of laborers has prevented the whole kingdom from becoming Christian.
Hosted by Anjiro's family until October 1550. From October to December, 1550, he resided in Yamaguchi
Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi
is the capital city of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.As of February 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 198,971 and a population density of 194.44 persons per km²...
. Shortly before Christmas, he left for Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
but failed to meet with the Emperor. He returned to Yamaguchi in March, 1551, where he was permitted to preach by the daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
of the province. However, lacking fluency in the Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, he had to limit himself to reading aloud the translation of a catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
.
Francis was the first Jesuit to go to Japan as a missionary. He brought with him paintings of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child. These paintings were used to help teach the Japanese about Christianity. There was a huge language barrier as Japanese was unlike other languages the missionaries had previously encountered. For a long time Francis struggled to learn the language. Artwork continued to play a role in Francis’ teachings in Asia.
For forty-five years the Jesuits were the only missionaries in Asia, but the Franciscans also began proselytizing in Asia as well. Christian missionaries were later forced into exile, along with their assistants. Some were able to stay behind, however Christianity was then kept underground as to not be persecuted.
The Japanese people were not easily converted; many of the people were already Buddhist or Shinto. Francis tried to combat the disposition of some of the Japanese that a God who had created everything, including evil, could not be good. The concept of Hell was also a struggle; the Japanese were bothered by the idea of their ancestors living in Hell. Despite Francis’ different religion, he felt that they were good people, much like Europeans, and could be converted.
Xavier was welcomed by the Shingon monks since he used the word Dainichi
Vairocana
Vairocana is a celestial Buddha who is often interpreted as the Bliss Body of the historical Gautama Buddha; he can also be referred to as the dharmakaya Buddha and the great solar Buddha. In Sino-Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of shunyata or...
for the Christian God; attempting to adapt the concept to local traditions. As Xavier learned more about the religious nuances of the word, he changed to Deusu from the Latin and Portuguese Deus. The monks later realized that Xavier was preaching a rival religion and grew more aggressive towards his attempts at conversion.
Bungo Province
was a province of Japan in eastern Kyūshū in the area of Ōita Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Buzen Province. Bungo bordered Buzen, Hyūga, Higo, Chikugo, and Chikuzen Provinces.-History:...
. Xavier worked for more than two years in Japan and saw his successor-Jesuits established. He then decided to return to India. Historians debate the exact path he returned back by, but due to evidence attributed to the captain of his ship, he may have travelled through Tanegeshima and Minato, and avoided Kagoshima due to the hostility of the Daimyo. During his trip, a tempest forced him to stop on an island near Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
where he saw the rich merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
Diogo Pereira, an old friend from Cochin, who showed him a letter from Portuguese being held prisoners in Guangzhou asking for a Portuguese ambassador to talk to the Chinese Emperor in their favor. Later during the voyage, he stopped at Malacca on 27 December 1551, and was back in Goa by January, 1552.
On 17 April he set sail with Diogo Pereira, leaving Goa on board the Santa Cruz for China. He introduced himself as Apostolic Nuncio and Pereira as ambassador of the King of Portugal. Shortly thereafter, he realized that he had forgotten his testimonial letters as an Apostolic Nuncio. Back in Malacca, he was confronted by the capitão Álvaro de Ataíde da Gama who now had total control over the harbor. The capitão refused to recognize his title of Nuncio, asked Pereira to resign from his title of ambassador, named a new crew for the ship and demanded the gifts for the Chinese Emperor be left in Malacca.
Taishan
Taishan is a coastal county-level city in Guangdong Province, China. The city is part of the Greater Taishan Region....
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
, 200 km south-west of what later became Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. At this time, he was only accompanied by a Jesuit student, Álvaro Ferreira, a Chinese man called António and a Malabar
Malabars
Malabars is an appellation originating from the colonial era that was used by Westerners to refer to all the people of South India...
servant called Christopher. Around mid-November he sent a letter saying that a man had agreed to take him to the mainland in exchange for a large sum of money. Having sent back Álvaro Ferreira, he remained alone with António. He died at Sancian
Shangchuan Island
Shangchuan Island also written is the main island of Chuanshan Archipelago on the southern coast of China. Its name originated from São João - Saint John in Portuguese. It is part of the Guangdong province, in the South China Sea...
from a fever on the 3 December 1552, while he was waiting for a boat that would agree to take him to mainland China.
Burials and relics
He was first buried on a beach at Shangchuan Island. In 2006, on the 500th anniversary of his birth, the Xavier Tomb Monument and Chapel on the island, in ruins after years of neglect under communist rule in China was restored with the support from the alumni of Wah Yan CollegeWah Yan College, Hong Kong
Wah Yan College, Hong Kong is an eminent grant-in-aid secondary school in Hong Kong. It was founded on 16 December 1919, by Tsui Yan Sau Peter . It is a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys run by the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus...
, a Jesuit high school in Hong Kong. His incorrupt
Incorruptibility
Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that supernatural intervention allows some human bodies to avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness...
body was taken from the island in February 1553 and was temporarily buried in St. Paul's church
St. Paul's Church, Melaka
St. Paul's Church is a historic church building in Malacca, Malaysia that was originally built in 1521. It is located at the summit of St. Paul's Hill and is today part of the Malacca Museum Complex comprising the A Famosa ruins, the Stadthuys and other historical buildings.-History:In Décadas da...
in Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
on 22 March 1553. An open grave in the church now marks the place of Xavier's burial. Pereira came back from Goa, removed the corpse shortly after 15 April 1553, and moved it to his house. On 11 December 1553, Xavier's body was shipped to Goa. The body is now in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, where it was placed in a glass container encased in a silver casket on 2 December 1637.
The right forearm
Forearm
-See also:*Forearm flexors*Forearm muscles...
, which Xavier used to bless and baptize his converts, was detached by Pr. Gen. Claudio Acquaviva
Claudio Acquaviva
Claudio Acquaviva was an Italian Jesuit priest elected in 1581 the 5th Superior General of the Society of Jesus...
in 1614. It has been displayed since in a silver reliquary at the main Jesuit church in Rome, Il Gesù.
Another of Xavier's arm bones was brought to Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
where it was kept in a silver reliquary
Reliquary
A reliquary is a container for relics. These may be the physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures...
. The relic was destined for Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
but religious persecution there persuaded the church to keep it in Macau's Cathedral of St. Paul. It was subsequently moved to St. Joseph's
St. Joseph's Seminary and Church
St. Joseph's Seminary and Church is located in Macau.In 2005, the church became one of the designated sites of the Historic Centre of Macau enlisted on the UNESCO World Heritage List.-External links:*...
and in 1978 to the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier on Coloane Island
Coloane
Coloane is one of the two main islands of the Macau Special Administrative Region, located directly south of Macau's other main island, Taipa , and east of Hengqin Island of Zhuhai in Guangdong province....
. More recently the relic was moved to St. Joseph's Seminary and the Sacred Art Museum.
Legacy
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
, his work is of fundamental significance to Christians in the propagation of Christianity in China and Japan. India still has numerous Jesuit missions, and many more schools. There has been less of an impact in Japan. Following the persecutions of Daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
and the subsequent closing of Japan to foreigners, the Christians of Japan were forced to go underground and developed an independent Christian culture.
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
said of both Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
and Francis Xavier: "not only their history which was interwoven for many years from Paris and Rome, but a unique desire — a unique passion, it could be said — moved and sustained them through different human events: the passion to give to God-Trinity a glory always greater and to work for the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ to the peoples who had been ignored."
As the foremost saint from Navarre and one of the main Jesuit saints, he is much venerated in Spain and the Hispanic countries where Francisco Javier or Javier are common male given names.
The alternative spelling Xavier is also popular in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Brazil, France, Belgium, and southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the spelling Xavier is almost always used, and the name is quite common among Christians, especially in the southern states of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
and more common in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
. In Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, Xavier besides being a surname, is also seen as the suffix in the names Francisco Xavier, António Xavier, João Xavier, Caetano Xavier, Domingos Xavier et cetera, which were very common till quiet recently. In Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
the name is spelled as Xaver and often used in addition to Francis as Franz-Xaver. In English speaking countries, "Xavier" is one of the few names starting with X, and until recently was likely to follow "Francis"; in the last decade, however, "Xavier" by itself has become more popular than "Francis", and is now one of the hundred most common male baby names in the US.
Many churches all over the world have been named in honor of Xavier, often founded by Jesuits. One notable church is the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier
Basilica of St. Francis Xavier
The Basilica of St. Francis Xavier is the Catholic parish for the residents of Dyersville, Iowa. It is one of only 52 basilicas in the United States. The parish is part of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The church was named in honor of the missionary Saint Francis Xavier.-The Church Building:The...
in Dyersville, Iowa
Dyersville, Iowa
Dyersville is a city in eastern Delaware and western Dubuque Counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is part of the Dubuque, Iowa, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,035 at the 2000 census and was estimated to be 4,167 in 2006....
. The Javierada is an annual pilgrimage from Pamplona to Xavier instituted in the 1940s.
The Novena of Grace
Novena of Grace
The Novena of Grace is a Catholic devotion addressed to Saint Francis Xavier. It is usually performed from March 4 to March 12 included.In Naples in 1633 there lived Fr. Marcello Mastrilli, S.J...
is a popular devotion to Francis Xavier, typically prayed on the nine days before 3 December.
One of his relatives is John Sevier
John Sevier
John Sevier served four years as the only governor of the State of Franklin and twelve years as Governor of Tennessee. As a U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1811 until his death...
. The Sevier family name originated from the name Xavier.
He has been depicted in various artworks, including Rubens
Rubens
Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens , the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens (composer) Rubens is...
' painting "St Francis Xavier raising the dead", which the Dutch master painted for a Jesuit church in Antwerp, and in which he depicted one of St Francis' many alleged miracles (in this case a resurrection).
Beatification and canonization
Francis Xavier is a Catholic saintSaint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
. He was beatified by Paul V on 25 October 1619, and was canonized by Gregory XV on 12 March (12 April) 1622, at the same time as Ignatius Loyola. He is considered to be a patron saint of Roman Catholic missionaries in foreign lands. His feast day is 3 December.
Feast and pilgrimage centres
2009
The feast of Saint Francis Xavier is celebrated on 3 December, although it is celebrated sometimes on 2 December. It is a large celebration in Velha Goa, Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
and beyond. In Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
St. Francis Xavier is called popularly as Saib or Gõi-cho Saib (Master of Goa) and the place Velha Goa, is also called Saibachem Goem (St. Francis Xavier's Goa). In the year 2009, the was Sam Fransikachea Visvaxiponnachea Dekhin, Jezu-Noketra Bhaxen Porzollum-ia, which translates from Konkani into English as 'Inspired by the faithfulness of Saint Francis, let us shine like Jesus, the Star', probably based on the year's pastoral theme of the Archdiocese of Goa e Damão Noketram Bhaxen, Sonvsarant Porzollum-ia which translates into English as 'Shine like Stars, in the World'. The theme of the feast of Saint Francis Xavier, draws light from the Universal Church's declaration of 2009-10 as the Year for Priests. Similarly, the celebrations also reflected on the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman's focus on the youth that year. A huge pandal was erected in the front of the Bom Jesus Basilica
Bom Jesus Basilica
The Basilica of Bom Jesus or Borea Jezuchi Bajilika is located in Goa, India, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. The church is located in Old Goa, which was the capital of Goa in the early days of Portuguese rule.'Bom Jesus' is the...
, with almost eight to ten novena Masses daily mainly in Konkani, besides English, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Portuguese. The Archbishop, concelebrates the Solemn High Mass, with other bishops and numerous priests. In 2009, Bishop of Belgaum, Rt Rev Peter Machado will be the main celebrant.
2011
In Velha Goa (Old Goa), Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, India the novenas in the year 2011 began on the 24th November. The theme of this year's feast was Mon'xa Xrixtticho Korar Jieum-ia, Sam Fransisk Xavierak Man Dium -Ya, based on the Archdiocese of Goa and Damão's archbishops pastoral letter
Pastoral letter
A Pastoral letter, often called simply a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of his diocese, or to both, containing either general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circumstances...
, Mon'xa Xrixtticho Korar, Deva Mogacho Rupkar which in English roughly means "Covenant between Man and Nature Divine Love's Manifestation". Masses are being held, as in the last few decades, at the adr (front) of the Bom Jesus Basilica
Bom Jesus Basilica
The Basilica of Bom Jesus or Borea Jezuchi Bajilika is located in Goa, India, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. The church is located in Old Goa, which was the capital of Goa in the early days of Portuguese rule.'Bom Jesus' is the...
, due to lack of space within the Basilica. A large makeshift pandal has been put. It has a stage, where the altar is placed, and a background, on which the year's theme and St. Francis Xavier's picture has been prominently displayed. This year, on every Novena day, an element of nature is taken, like, water, land, fire, ether, etc. and a sermon is given on our day to day activities interaction with these elements and sometimes a relationship with the life of St. Francis Xavier is given.
This year besides the Masses, a programme called deepen your faith was conducted daily from the 24th November till the 1st December, after the 6 PM Novena Mass of St. Francis Xavier. It dealt with various Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
teachings on the [Bible]] testament-wise, Holy Eucharist, Confessions
Confessions
Confessions may refer to:*The plural of confession* Confessions , a series of books composed by St. Augustine of Hippo circa AD 397* Confessions , an autobiography by Jean-Jacques Rousseau...
and finally will conclude with the life of St. Francis Xavier. Daily masses are being held at 6, 7.15, 8.15, 9.30, 10.30 in the mornings and at 1545 hours (3.45 PM), 5.15 and 6.15 in the afternoon and evening. The feast day masses on the third of December will be held at 4 AM, 5 AM, 6 AM, 7 AM, 8 AM, 9 AM, 10.30 AM, 12 noon, 3 PM (Spanish), 4 PM, 5 PM and 6 PM. The large number of masses are due to the large number of devotees who come from far and wide, cutting across religions. The 10.30 AM mass is the solemn feast high Mass
High Mass
High Mass may mean:*Solemn Mass, a Tridentine Mass celebrated with deacon and subdeacon *Missa Cantata, a sung Tridentine Mass without deacon and subdeacon...
, which will most likely be celebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
to India, Archbishop Salvatore Penacchio. This year masses are being held mainly in Konkanni, besides English, Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Portuguese and Spanish languages, but most, if not all the Masses, conclude with the recessional hymn
Recessional hymn
A recessional hymn is a hymn placed at the end of a service to close it. It is used commonly in the Catholic Church and Anglican Church, an equivalent to the concluding voluntary, which is called a Recessional Voluntary, for example a Wedding Recessional....
Sam Fransisku Xaviera, Vhodda Kunvra (In English it roughly translates Our Saint Francis Xavier, Great Prince). A novena prayer to St. Francis Xavier is also held before the Mass generally. The mass at 6 PM on the feast day is celebrated by the Jesuits over the last few years.
Goa
Saint Francis Xavier's relics are kept in a silver casket, elevated inside the Bom Jesus Basilica
Bom Jesus Basilica
The Basilica of Bom Jesus or Borea Jezuchi Bajilika is located in Goa, India, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. The church is located in Old Goa, which was the capital of Goa in the early days of Portuguese rule.'Bom Jesus' is the...
and are exposed (brought at ground level) when the Archbishop of Goa e Damão decides. Generally it is every ten years, but is not a compulsion. The last exposition was held in 2004 and was held for about one month during December. Bones of Saint Francis Xavier are also found in the Espirito Santo (Holy Spirit) Church, Margão
Margao
Margao and commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It is the administrative headquarters of South Goa district and of the Salcete taluka.- Etymology :...
and in Sanv Fransiku Xavierachi Igorz (Church of St. Francis Xavier), Batpal, Canacona
Canacona
Canacona is an administrative region in south Goa, in India.Canacona is one of the five talukas that constitute the South Goa district. It is bounded on the north by the taluka of Quepem, on the northeast by Sanguem, on the south by the state of Karnataka, and on the west by the Arabian Sea...
, Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
.
Numerous people from Goa, India (mainly from the southern Indian states), south Asia and beyond visit Goa to attend the feast.
Other places
Other pilgrimage centres include Saint Francis Xavier's birthplace in Navarra, Church of Il Gesu, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Malacca (where he was buried for 2 years, before being brought to Goa), Sancian (Place of death) etc.
The Javierada is an annual pilgrimage from Pamplona to Xavier instituted in the 1940s.
Hymns
There are many hymns written in his honour. Sam Fransisku Xaviera is a Konkani hymn, which is sung as the recessional hymn at most of the novenas held at Bom Jesus BasilicaBom Jesus Basilica
The Basilica of Bom Jesus or Borea Jezuchi Bajilika is located in Goa, India, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. The church is located in Old Goa, which was the capital of Goa in the early days of Portuguese rule.'Bom Jesus' is the...
, Velha Goa, the place where the relics of St. Francis Xavier are kept.
Proselytism and Goa Inquisition
In his lifetime, as part of his missionary activity, Francis Xavier used to refer to pagans as devil-worshipers and spiritually blind, Hindu teachings as repulsive and grotesque, Vishnu's transformation as foulest shapes, Shiva as shameless, Kali as clamoring for sacrifices, many-headed and many-armed gods and goddesses in temples as hideous forms and temples and altars as place of degrading rites. According to Rao, "St. Francis Xavier made it a point not only to convert the people but also destroy the idols and ancient places of worship."Francis Xavier requested the foundation of the Goa Inquisition
Goa Inquisition
The Goa Inquisition was the office of the Inquisition acting in the Indian state of Goa and the rest of the Portuguese empire in Asia. It was established in 1560, briefly suppressed from 1774–1778, and finally abolished in 1812. The Goan Inquisition is considered a blot on the history of...
, but he never saw it happen; it commenced eight years after his death. On May 16, 1545, Xavier wrote to the King of Portugal to establish the Inquisition in Goa: "The second necessity for the Christians is that Your Majesty establish the Holy Inquisition in Goa because there are many who live according to the Jewish Law and according to the Mohammedan Sect, without any fear of God or shame of the World. And since there are many Hindus who are spread all over the fortresses, there is the need of the Holy Inquisition, and of many preachers. Your Majesty should provide such necessary things for your loyal and faithful subjects in the Indies."
Here are some other quotes from him:
"These children, I trust heartily, by the grace of God, will be much better than their fathers. They show an ardent love for the Divine law, and an extraordinary zeal for learning our holy religion and imparting it to others. Their hatred for idolatry is marvellous. They get into feuds with the heathen about it, and whenever their own parents practise it, they reproach them and come off to tell me at once. Whenever I hear of any act of idolatrous worship, I go to the place with a large band of these children, who very soon load the devil with a greater amount of insult and abuse than he has lately received of honor and worship from their parents, relations, and acquaintances. The children run at the idols, upset them, dash them down, break them to pieces, spit on them, trample on them, kick them about, and in short heap on them every possible outrage." (1543)http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1543xavier1.html
"When I have finished baptizing the people, I order them to destroy the huts in which they keep their idols; and I have them break the statues of their idols into tiny pieces, since they are now Christians. I could never come to an end describing to you the great consolation which fills my soul when I see idols being destroyed by the hands of those who had been idolaters."
"Following the Baptisms, the new Christians return to their homes and come back with their wives and families to be in their turn also prepared for Baptism. After all have been baptised, I order that everywhere the temples of the false Gods be pulled down and idols broken. I know not how to describe in words the joy I feel before the spectacle of pulling down and destroying the idols by the very people who formerly worshipped them."
"I order everywhere the temples pulled down and all idols broken. I know not how to describe in words the joy I feel before the spectacle of pulling down and destroying the idols."
"When the boys informed him that some had made an idol, he went with them and had it broken into a thousand pieces. If in spite of all his advice someone persisted in making idols, he would have them punished by the Patingatis (Parava headsman) by exile.... One day when he heard that idols had been worshipped in the house of a Christian, he ordered the hut to be burnt down as a warning to others." (Silva Rego, Vol. I. p. 158)
Fictional
- The episode "Unholy Union" of the AnimeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
Samurai ChamplooSamurai Champloois a Japanese anime series created and directed by Shinichirō Watanabe. It was broadcast in Japan from May 20, 2004 through March 19, 2005 on Fuji TV. Samurai Champloo has earned Watanabe a renowned title in the anime and Japanese television communities...
features a villain claiming to be Francis Xavier's grandson, calling himself Francis Xavier III. The man is in fact a Japanese impostor rallying Christians into gun-racketeering by playing with their faith. - "Saint Francis Xavier" is featured in the Japanese gore film, Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein GirlVampire Girl vs. Frankenstein GirlVampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl is a 2009 Japanese gore film. It was directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura and Naoyuki Tomomatsu and premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival in June 2009...
, and is responsible for the death of Vampire Girl's mother. - The Route to the Orient is a book and CD collection, telling the story of Xavier' missionary travels to China.
- The main character of the movie "Scrooged" is named 'Francis Xavier' Cross.
See also
- Christianity in IndonesiaChristianity in IndonesiaChristianity in Indonesia is the country's second-largest religion, after Islam. About 7% of the population of Indonesia are Protestants, 3% are Catholics, with around 86% Muslims.-Distribution:...
- Catholicism in IndonesiaCatholicism in IndonesiaRoman Catholicism in Indonesia is one of the six approved religions in the country, the others being Islam, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. According official figures, Catholics make up 3.05 percent of the population in 2000. This would yield the number of the Catholics to...
- Jesuit China missionsJesuit China missionsThe history of the missions of the Jesuits in China is part of the history of relations between China and the Western world. The missionary efforts and other work of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, between the 16th and 17th century played a significant role in continuing the transmission of...
- Catholicism in China
- Christianity in ChinaChristianity in ChinaChristianity in China is a growing minority religion that comprises Protestants , Catholics , and a small number of Orthodox Christians. Although its lineage in China is not as ancient as the institutional religions of Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism, and the social system and ideology of...
- St. Stephen's Church, Kombuthurai - church built by Francis Xavier in India (1542).
External links
- "St. Francis Xavier, Apostle of the Indies, Confessor", Butler's Lives of the Saints
- The Life and Miracles of St. Francis Xavier, Apostle and Missionary of the Indies
- Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa The Shrine of Saint Francis Xavier
- Saint Francis Xavier University Antigonish, Nova Scotia
- The Life of St. Francis Xavier
- The life and letters of St. Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Saint, 1506-1552 Coleridge, Henry James, 1822-1893 London: Burns and Oates, (1872)
- Xavier's World website of Navarre Department of Education celebrating 500th anniversary of their patron saint's birth
- A critical view
- St. Francis Xavier - Pictorial Biography
- Saint François Xavier
- St. Francis of the Millennium
- The Goa Jesuit Province of the Society of Jesus: The Jesuits in Goa
- The Feast of St Francis Xavier in Goa
- Picture of Shangchuan island. The chapel marks the location of his death
- Another picture of the church on Shangchuan island
- Old map of Shangchuan island
- http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Miracles/Miracles_005.htmThe Miracles of St Francis Xavier by John Hardon, SJJohn HardonJohn A. S. A. Hardon, S.J., Servant of God was a Jesuit priest, writer, and theologian. He is the founder of The Holy Trinity Apostolate.-Early life:...
] - St Francis Xavier: History of His Incorrupt Body
- Brief History of St Francis Xavier
- Saint Francis Xavier at Patron Saints Index
- St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish in Brunswick, GA
- St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Parkersburg, WV
- Yomiuri ShimbunYomiuri ShimbunThe is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five national newspapers in Japan; the other four are the Asahi Shimbun, the Mainichi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and the Sankei Shimbun...
: St. Francis Xavier – 90% name recognition amongst primary school students in Japan, 2008. - Hidemi Mizuta, "Intercultural Contact in the Age of St. Francis Xavier" Hiroshima Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, Vol.1 page.15-24
