Saint Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier (Francisco de Jassu y Javier, ), was the first Jesuit missionary and the prototype who inspired many men to enter the Society of Jesus and evangelize far off nations. One of the original group of seven men who founded the Jesuits, he was sent to India before the new religious order received formal approval from the Church.
Xavier was born in his family's small castle in Navarre, in the north of Spain, and there received his early education. In September he went to Paris to begin university studies at the College of Sainte-Barbe where his roommate was Peter Faber (Pierre Favre) from the Savoy region of France. Four years later everything changed when an older student moved in, Ignatius Loyola (Iñigo Lopez de Loyola), a failed Basque courtier given to prayer. Loyola soon won Faber over to wanting to become a priest and work for the salvation of souls, but Xavier aspired to a worldly career and was not at all interested in being a priest. He earned his licentiate degree in the spring of and began teaching Aristotle at the College of Dormans-Beauvais; he remained living in the room with Favre and Loyola. When Faber went to visit his family in
St. Francis XavierFeast day: Dec 03
On Dec. 3, the Roman Catholic Church honors St. Francis Xavier, one of the first Jesuits who went on to evangelize vast portions of Asia.
Francis Xavier was born during in the Kingdom of Navarre, a region now divided between Spain and France. His mother was an esteemed heiress, and his father an adviser to King John III. While his brothers entered the military, Francis followed an intellectual path to a college in Paris. There he studied philosophy, and later taught it after earning his masters degree.
In Paris, the young man would discover his destiny with the help of his long-time friend Peter Faber, and an older student named Ignatius Loyola – who came to Paris in to finish a degree, and brought together a group of men looking to glorify God with their lives.
At first, personal ambition kept Francis from heeding God's call. Ignatius' humble and austere lifestyle did not appeal to him. But the older student, who had undergone a dramatic conversion, often posed Christ's question to Francis: “What will it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
Gradually, Ignatius convinced the young man to give up his own plans
| Francis Xavier | |
|---|---|
| Apostle to the Far East | |
| Born | April 7, in Javier, Spain |
| Died | December 2, in China |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church, Lutheran Church |
| Beatified | October 25, by Paul V |
| Canonized | March 12, by Gregory XV |
| Feast | December 3 |
| Attributes | crucifix; preacher carrying a flaming heart; bell; globe; vessel; young bearded Jesuit in the company of Saint Ignatius Loyola; young bearded Jesuit with a torch, flame, cross and lily |
| Patronage | African missions; Agartala, India; Ahmedabad, India; Alexandria, Louisiana; Apostleship of Prayer; Australia; Borneo; Cape Town, South Africa; China; Dinajpur, Bangladesh; East Indies; Fathers of the Precious Blood; foreign missions; Freising, Germany; Goa, India; Green Bay, Wisconsin; India; Indianapolis, Indiana; Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan; Joiliet, Illinois; Kabankalan, Philippines; Mumbai, India; Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines; diocese of Malindi, Kenya; missionaries; Missioners of the Precious Blood; Navarre, Spain; navigators; New Zealand; parish missions; plague epidemics; Propagation of the Faith |
Saint Francis Xavier (Basque: San Frantzisko Xabierkoa;
Xavier, Francis
Francis Xavier, the first great missionary of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), was born in Navarre, Spain, on April 7, , and died on the island of Sancian, off the Chinese mainland, on December 3,
Xavier left his native Spain in to take up studies at the University of Paris. It was here that he met Ignatius Loyola (–) and other founding members of the future Society of Jesus. Xavier was at first resistant to Loyola's attempts to bring about a spiritual conversion in his life. By , however, the two men had developed a close friendship and they were among the group of seven students who, on August 15, , assembled at a chapel in Montmartre and took private vows of poverty and chastity.
After finishing their studies in Paris, the friends aimed to travel to Jerusalem to help in the work of converting the infidels. If this proved impossible (as it did), they pledged to visit Rome and allow the pope to use them in whatever way he thought "most useful to the glory of God and the good of souls." Official papal recognition of the new Society of Jesus arrived in September with the bull Regimini militantis ecclesiae.
At this stage, there was little, if any, talk o
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