St. Francis Xavier
Born: April 7, 1506
Died: December 3, 1552
Feast day: December 3
Patron saint of: missionaries, epidemics
Saint Francis Xavier veered from his original plan when on Aug. 15, 1534, he, Peter Faber, Ignatius Loyola, and four other men decided to dedicate themselves to God at a church in Montmartre, near Paris. The decision was countercultural for their time—just as it would be now. Because of war, preaching to Muslims in the Middle East, as these first Jesuits wanted to do, was too dangerous. Instead Xavier and the small “Company of Jesus” offered their lives to the church and its pontiff, ministering in hospitals while living very simple lives of prayer and fasting. Xavier’s dreams of becoming a famous advocate were further redirected by the king of Portugal, who wanted Xavier to be the pope’s representative in India. India was a place for opportunists, not a royal-blooded, highly educated man of Europe.
So Xavier went. And made history.
Xavier’s extensive letters to Loyola talk of his arms being so tired from baptizing people that he couldn’t lift them, of nights spent sobbing in prayer, and of sailing dangerous, uncharted waters. Yet Xavier did not shun danger, claiming, “In this life we find our greatest comfort living in the midst of danger, that is, if we confront it solely for the love of God.” At no time in his life had he ever been happier.
More on St. Francis:
Saint Francis Xavier: Man on a mission
St. Francis Xavier was a trusting missionary to the east.
Image: Wikimedia Commons/A Portrait of St. Francis Xavier, Japan, 17th century.
