Newsletter from the Church of the Resurrection

St Francis Xavier, is the Co-Patron of Missions together with St Therese of Lisieux.  His feast day is 3 December.

Francis Xavier is one of the most exciting and adventurous people of the sixteenth century. He travelled where few westerners had been – to India, Japan, Malasia and China. He undertook long and difficult voyages, risking all to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to farmer, fisherman, king and emperor.

St Francis Xavier was one of St Ignatius Loyola’s closest friends and an original founding companion of the Society of Jesus.  He was born in 1506 in the family castle in the Basque region, Spain. The fifth and youngest child of noble, wealthy, and pious parents.

At 19 he left home and studied at the University of Paris. By 30 he had earned a Master of Arts degree in philosophy. He taught the subject for four years and then studied theology for two years.

While studying at the University, Ignatius Loyola, who was a fellow student, became an increasingly important influence. Joined by others in Paris these first companions formed what would soon become known as the Company (or Society) of Jesus, taking vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, ready to go wherever there was the greatest need. These first Jesuits were on fire with the love of God, a love which showed itself in deeds such as begging alms, teaching catechism, tending to the poor, the sick and prostitutes and those rejected by society.

His missionary travels took him to many places around the world. Francis Xavier was the only original companion to leave Europe. He travelled from Rome to Lisbon, and then to India. Along the way, he assisted in many previously established missions including those in Mozambique and Melindi (Kenya), Socotra (an island off the coast of Somalia), and Goa (a district on the west coast of India).

A Jesuit way was to write frequent letters to each other and especially to Ignatius in Rome.  These letters provide a fascinating insight into lost worlds, hard for us to imagine. Francis spent seven years on the coast of South India, constantly travelling and preaching the gospel, teaching, consoling, comforting, begging arms for the poor, and visiting the sick.

Arriving in Japan in 1549, the Japanese people made a deep impression on Francis. In them he found a depth of spiritual awareness, which, he believed, made them especially ready to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. He wrote to the Jesuits he had left behind in India, “May it please God our Lord to grant us a knowledge of the language so that we can speak to them of the things of God, for we shall then, by His grace, favour and assistance, produce much fruit.”

In 1549, Xavier began the first Christian mission in Japan where he served in the country for over two years.  But the Japanese refused to believe what Francis taught them if it was not known in China.  Undaunted Francis set out for China, seeking an audience at the imperial court.  If converting the Japanese meant first converting the Chinese, this is what he would do.  He landed on Shangchuan Island in 1552, but there contracted a severe fever from which he died a few weeks later at the age of 46, in sight of mainland China across a narrow stretch of sea.

Before his final resting place in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in 1624, his body was buried in three different countries. Each time the body was exhumed it was found to be fresh and incorrupt.  The Basilica of Bom Jesus is a UNESCO world heritage site in Goa.

St Francis Xavier lived his life with zeal for the Greater Glory of God.  He wrote to his fellow Jesuits about his safe arrival after travelling: “In this life, we find our greatest comfort living in the midst of danger, that is, if we confront them solely for the love of God”.

A description of Francis Xavier written by a companion “I have never met anyone more filled with faith and hope, more open-minded than Francis.  He never seems to lose his great joy and enthusiasm.  He talks to both the good and the bad.  Anything he is asked to do, Francis does willingly, simply because he loves everyone.”

Francis Xavier was canonized by Gregory XV on March 12, 1622, at the same time as Ignatius Loyola. St. Francis Xavier ranks among the greatest missionaries in Christian history. Modern scholars estimate he baptised some 30000 converts in his lifetime.