St Francis Xavier SJ, was born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta on 7 April 1506, in the town of Javier in the Kingdom of Navarra. He studied at the University of Paris but his life was significantly changed when he met his new roommate St. Ignatius of Loyola. His other roommate was St. Peter Faber. Together, they founded the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, and they took vows of poverty and chastity at Montmartre, Paris in 1534.

He was the first missionary for the Jesuits and led an extensive mission to Asia, mainly the Portuguese Empire in the East, and was influential in evangelisation work, most notably in early modern India and Portuguese India.

As a representative of the king of Portugal, he was also the first major Christian missionary to enter Borneo, the Maluku Islands, Japan, and other areas…..though struggling to learn the local languages and in the face of opposition, he had less success here than elsewhere. He was about to extend his mission to Ming China, when he died on Shangchuan Island, on the southern coast of Guangdong in China on 3 December 1552.

Francis was beatified by Pope Paul V on 25 October 1619 and canonized by Pope Gregory XV on 12 March 1622. In 1624, he was made co-patron of Navarre and the Day of Navarre marks the anniversary of his death, 3 December. His body rests in Goa. Considered to be one of the greatest missionaries since St Paul, Pope Pius XI published the decree "Apostolicorum in Missionibus" in 1927, naming Francis Xavier, along with Thérèse of Lisieux, as co-patron of all foreign missions.

Many churches all over the world, often founded by Jesuits, have been named after Francis, including the historic St Francis Xavier Shrine at Warwick, Maryland and the Basilica of St Francis Xavier in Dyersville, Iowa. He is the patron saint of Roman Catholic missions.

Picture above – Portrait of St Francis Xavier by an unknown artist.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Franciscus_de_Xabier.jpg

Kobe City Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons