The
baptismal name of Francis Xavier was
Francisco de Jaso y Azpilicueta and he was born on April 7, 1506. In 1525, having completed a
preliminary course of studies in his own country, Francis Xavier went to Paris,
where he entered the collège de Sainte-Barbe. Here he met the Savoyard, Pierre
Favre, and a warm personal friendship sprang up between them. It was at this
same college that St. Ignatius Loyola, who was already planning the foundation
of the Society of Jesus, resided for a time as a guest in 1529. Ignatius soon
won the confidence of the two young men; first Favre and later Xavier offered
themselves with him in the formation of the Society. Four others, Lainez,
Salmerón, Rodríguez, and Bobadilla, having joined them, the seven made the famous
vow of Montmartre, on August 15, 1534. After completing his studies in Paris and filling
the post of teacher there for some time, Xavier left the city with his
companions on November 15, 1536, and turned his steps to Venice, where he
displayed zeal and charity in attending the sick in the hospitals. On June 24,
1537, he received Holy orders with St. Ignatius. The following year he went to
Rome, and after doing apostolic work there for some months, during the spring
of 1539 he took part in the conferences which St. Ignatius held with his
companions to prepare for the definitive foundation of the Society of Jesus.
The order was approved verbally on September 3, 1539, and before the written
approbation was secured, which was not until a year later, Xavier was
appointed, at the earnest solicitation of the John III, King of Portugal, to
evangelize the people of the East Indies. He left Rome on March 16, 1540, and
reached Lisbon about June. He remained there for nine months, and was noted for
his apostolic zeal. On
April 7, 1541, he embarked in a sailing vessel for India, and after a tedious
and dangerous voyage landed at Goa on May 6, 1542. The first five months were
spent in preaching and ministering to the sick in the hospitals. He would go
through the streets ringing a little bell and inviting the children to hear the
word of God. When he had gathered a number, he would take them to a certain
church and would there explain the catechism to them. About October, 1542, he
started for the pearl fisheries of the extreme southern coast of the peninsula,
desirous of restoring Christianity which, although introduced years before, had
almost disappeared on account of the lack of priests. He devoted almost three
years to the work of preaching to the people of Western India, converting many,
and reaching in his journeys even the Island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Many
were the difficulties and hardships which Xavier had to encounter at this time;
yet he persevered and never gave up. In the spring of 1545 Xavier started for
Malacca. He worked there for the last months of that year, and although he was
successful, he was not as successful as he would have liked to be. About
January 1546, Xavier left Malacca and went to Molucca Islands, where the
Portuguese had some settlements, and for a year and a half he preached the
Gospel to the inhabitants of Amboyna, Ternate, Baranura, and other islands in
that area. It is claimed by some that during this expedition he landed on the
island of Mindanao, and for this reason St. Francis Xavier has been called the
first Apostle of the Philippines.
By
July, 1547, he was again in Malacca. Here he met a Japanese called Anger
(Han-Sir), from whom he obtained much information about Japan. His zeal was at
once aroused by the idea of introducing Christianity into Japan, but for the
time being the affairs of the Society of Jesus demanded his presence at Goa, and
so he went there taking Anger with him. During the six years that Xavier had
been working among the people, other Jesuit missionaries had arrived at Goa,
sent from Europe by St. Ignatius; moreover some who had been born in India had
been received into the Society. In 1548 Xavier sent these Jesuits to the
principal centres of India, where he had established missions, so that the work
might be preserved and continued. He also established a novitiate and house of
studies, and having received into the Society Father Cosme de Torres, a Spanish
priest whom he had met in the Malucca. He started with him and Brother Juan
Fernández for Japan towards the end of June, 1549. The Japanese Anger, who had
been baptized at Goa and given the name of Pablo de Santa Fe, accompanied them. They landed at the city of
Kagoshima in Japan, on August 15, 1549. The entire first year was devoted to
learning the Japanese language and translating into Japanese, with the help of
Pablo de Santa Fe, the principal articles of faith and short treatises which
were to be employed in preaching and catechizing. When he was able to express
himself, Xavier began preaching and made some converts, but these aroused the
ill will of the Bonzes, who had him banished from the city. Leaving Kagoshima
about August, 1550, he penetrated to the centre of Japan, and preached the Gospel
in some of the cities of southern Japan. Towards the end of that year he
reached Meaco, then the principal city of Japan, but he was unable to make any
headway here. He retraced his steps to the centre of Japan, and during 1551
preached in some important cities, forming the nucleus of several Christian
communities, which in time increased with extraordinary rapidity. After working about two years
and a half in Japan he left this mission in charge of Father Cosme de Torres
and Brother Juan Fernández, and returned to Goa, arriving there at the
beginning of 1552. He then turned his thoughts to China, and began to plan an
expedition there. During his stay in Japan he had heard much of the Celestial
Empire, and was anxious to spread the Gospel there. In the autumn of 1552, he
arrived in a Portuguese vessel at the small island of Sancian near the coast of
China. While planning the best means for reaching the mainland, he was taken
ill, and as the movement of the vessel seemed to aggravate his condition, he was
removed to the land, where a hut had been built to shelter him. In these poor surroundings
he breathed his last.
One can
only wonder at the apostolic zeal of Francis Xavier who in the short span of
ten years traversed so many seas and visited so many countries to preach the
Gospel. He is regarded as the Patron of Missions primarily for these reasons. He
was canonized with St. Ignatius in 1622.
The
Gospel text of today is taken from the last Chapter and last verses in the
Gospel of Matthew and is commonly known as the “Great Commission”. The risen
Jesus meets his disciples on a mountain in Galilee and after making a
revelation to them issues a command. The command is to “make disciples” which
in Matthew is not done merely by baptising,
but primarily by teaching people to do what Jesus has done. This is what
Francis Xavier did. The assurance that Jesus gave his disciples of his abiding
presence is the assurance that motivated Xavier to persevere. It must also be
our reason for perseverance since Jesus is the same yesterday, today and
forever.
