Saint Francis Xavier - The Holy Soul

Saint Francis Xavier was one of the greatest modern-day Roman Catholic missionaries. He was instrumental in the formation of the Malay Archipelago, Christianity in India and Japan. In the year 1534 in Paris, he took an oath as one of the 7 members of the Jesuits. From an early age, St. Francis Xavier cast aside every ordinary aim and dedicated himself to study. He progressed to a professorship in Paris, and here, he was getting a commanding influence, but he came under the influence of Ignatius Loyola, another Spaniard and the one who founded the Society of Jesus. 

Due to his encouragement, St. Francis Xavier dedicated himself to various religious services. He spent a larger part of his life attending missions in multiple areas, like Japan and India. Additionally, he visited the Far East, too, in the form of a simple missionary. He devoted his remaining years to redeem the lowest and desolate people. Lets know the entire St Francis Xavier life story. 

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St Francis Xavier Early Life and Childhood

Francis Xavier was born on the 7th of April 1506 in the Navarre Kingdom (this is now situated in Northern Spain). He was the 5th and the youngest child of wealthy, pious, and noble parents. His parents were Dona Maria de Azpilcueta y Aznarez and Juan de Jasso y Atondo. The mother tongue of Francis Xavier was Basque. Juan, Francis’ father, later became a finance minister and privy counselor to King John III. His mother was the only heiress of a couple of noble Navarrese families. 

In the year 1512, King of Aragon, Ferdinand, and the regent of Castile captured Navarre, and it resulted in an initiation of a war that lasted for more than eighteen years. After three years, Francis’s father died, and at that time, Francis was only 9. 

Francis was raised at Xavier, and here, he got his early education too. As he was the youngest in the family, he intended to take up the career of an ecclesiastical, and in the year 1525, he went to the Paris University to begin his studies.

The Meeting of Francis and Ignatius of Loyola

In the year 1529, Ignatius of Loyola, another student of Basque, and Francis were allotted the same room. Ignatius of Loyola was a former soldier, and he was 15 years senior to Francis, so he had already gone through a deep religious conversion. At that time, he was collecting some like-minded people who had similar ideas.

With time, Ignatius could win over the headstrong Francis, and he was amongst one of a band of 7 who, on the 15th of August, 1534, vowed lives of celibacy and poverty. They promised to take a pilgrimage and dedicate themselves to the preservation of both unbelievers and believers.

Passion-Driven Accomplishment

Saint Francis Xavier has set some high standards for himself. Additionally, he had ambitious plans for his forthcoming days. He was believed to be a man of fast perception as well as sound judgment. Though he was known to be avid, he never failed to face the realities. He used to get driven by passions besides internal energy. And so, he could pursue realistic and extraordinary challenges.

The things that motivated Xavier to set high standards were his drive to help others so that they could hugely benefit. Xavier always conducted his work under the strength of Magis. This is a Latin term that means more. 

The Enthusiasm

The life history of St. Francis Xavier proved that he worked with incredible zeal and vitality. For example, when Loyola asked Xavier to join an expedition, he became overjoyed. Even images of the method in which he moved arrested his gusto. A major part of the enthusiasm of Xavier’s missionary work emerged from the prayers and support that he got from people. Saint Francis Xavier had dedicated his life to helping others and serving God, and he helped others in finding God.

His enthusiasm was underscored when he realized that his life and work weren’t easy. The 17th-century sea voyages were full of life-threatening dangers. Again, by the time he finished his university studies, his parents and his sister had left for heavenly abode, and his other brothers and sisters had got married off.

And so, he had become very lonely. He spent a major part of his life with feelings of depression, loneliness, and inferiority complex. But the optimistic thing is he had limitless confidence in God, and he believed that God would free him from all kinds of reverses and obstacles. This confidence motivated him to travel all through life with his strong feelings of enthusiasm and joy. The great thing is Xavier lived his life with passion.

Career

During his career as a missionary, Saint Francis Xavier wrote many numbers of letters, and they were conserved. Again, some have been published too. These letters display all the features that he had in his life. His writings are minute, and they allow people to follow him. In none of his letters, no description of a miracle has been mentioned. From the outside, a couple of or three things happened in his entire life. They have been exhibited excellently by himself and his contemporaries and even the most fervent missionaries, including Catholic and Protestant.

For instance, towards the start of his career, as he was going to Europe accompanied by an ambassador, he saw that one of the servants fell into deep water. Seeing this, Xavier prayed earnestly, and that man could emerge from the stream in some time. However, 60 years after he died, various biographers, while writing Saint Francis Xavier biography, mentioned it as a miracle.

Missionary Works of Xavier

King John III of Portugal was dazzled by the Jesuits, and he asked the missionaries to do a job in his empire. Although Loyola at first chose others for this job, Xavier entered when a priest became ill, and on the 15th of March 1540, he left Rome. 

On the 6th of May 1542, Xavier reached Goa in India, and he was hugely admired there for his capability to work and also live with the poor simultaneously. For looking for more converts, Xavier worked and traveled incessantly, and his stops comprised the Molucca Islands, Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, and the Banda Islands.

On the 15th of August 1549, Xavier reached Kagoshima in Japan, and as he was surrounded by other missions, he adapted himself to local mores. He also made arrangements to translate different religious tests, and these steps aided him in reaching more and more converts.

The Death of Xavier

Xavier chose China for his subsequent missionary works, and he traveled to Sancian Island close to Canton. However, he could not access the mainland as the borders were closed for foreigners. But before he could discover a method to get inside the country, he became sick. He breathed his last on the 3rd of December 1552 on the island. He was 46 when he died, and afterward, his body was taken to Goa. 

Although Xavier passed away at a very young age, his achievements were commendable. Besides being a member of the Society of Jesus, he baptized nearly 30,000 people. Pope Paul V beatified Xavier in the year 16119 and in the year 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. 

St. Francis Xavier biography reflected him as a passionate person, and he worked with enthusiasm for his entire life. He was recognized as a charismatic man, and he possessed a robust and dashing personality. Those who had seen him and wrote St. Francis Xavier's life story always mentioned him as a decisive, vivacious, prudent, practical, astounding, ambitious, keen, and cheerful man. 

He was successful as he had a unique ability to easily get mixed with people regardless of their beliefs, races, and social classes. The remarkable quality that Xavier possessed is he could understand people. He learned many languages and also adopted the native dress of the people he served. Xavier had always appreciated the presence of God, and he believed that God is present in every person, thing, place, and culture.