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Saint Francis Xavier

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

Saint Francis Xavier 1506-52, Basque Jesuit missionary, called the Apostle to the Indies, b. Spanish Navarre, of noble parents. He studied in Paris (1525-34), where he became an associate of St. Ignatius of Loyola , with whom he and five others took the vow in Montmartre that made them the nucleus of the Society of Jesus (see Jesus, Society of ). In 1536-37 he went to Venice, where he worked in the hospitals; he was ordained (1537) there with Ignatius. He worked at Rome with Ignatius for the new order until 1540, when he left for Portugal to join a mission the king was sending to Goa. St. Francis left Lisbon in 1541 with a brief as papal nuncio. At Goa he immediately began to preach and was very successful. After five months he went to the pearl fisheries of W India and spent 15 months on the coast from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) northward. After a second stay in Goa he sailed to Malacca (1545), which he left in 1546 for the Moluccas; in 1547 he went back to Malacca. Meanwhile more Jesuits were coming to India, and St. Francis assigned them to missions he had started. In 1549 he set sail for Japan and landed at Kagoshima. He and his companions remained in Japan for more than two years and set up many Christian communities. He went back to Goa (1552) and set out for China with a Portuguese embassy. On his way he died on the island of Changchuen (St. John). He is buried at Goa. St. Francis was one of the greatest of Christian missionaries; his travels covered many thousands of miles in 11 years, and his successes in preaching and in personal conversion were tremendous. He possessed a singular combination of profound mysticism and common sense. Feast: Dec. 3.

Bibliography: See biography by J. M. Langlois-Berthelot (tr. 1963); study by G. Schurhammer (tr. 1973).

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Francis Xavier, St

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | Copyright

Francis Xavier, St (1506–52). Spanish Roman Catholic (Jesuit) priest and missionary to Asia, canonized, 1622: feast day 3 Dec. Xavier was won over by his Basque fellow countryman, Ignatius Loyola, to become one of the original band of the Society of Jesus (he was one of those who took vows with him at Montmartre in 1534). Xavier committed himself to obey the pope's command to serve in the already vast and growing overseas colonies of Portugal and sailed for India on 7 Apr. 1541, arriving in Goa a year later.

Xavier's commission from both the king of Portugal and the pope extended to the whole of Asia, and he spent some months of 1546 and 1547 in what is now Indonesia. His primary goal, however, was Japan, and with a Japanese convert and a small band of co-workers landed on Kagoshima on 15 Aug. 1549. Xavier remained in Japan only two years and three months, leaving about 2,000 Christians to the ministrations of fellow Jesuits, after which he returned to Goa and then came back to die on an island near the coast of China on 3 Dec. 1552. His body was taken to Goa, where it is still venerated.

Among Xavier's greatest contributions to the mission to Japan was his deep and growing respect for the Japanese as persons and as bearers of a high culture which could be the foundation of Christian life.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Francis Xavier, St." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Francis Xavier, St." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-FrancisXavierSt.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Francis Xavier, St." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-FrancisXavierSt.html

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Francis Xavier, St

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | 2000 | | Copyright

Francis Xavier, St (1506–52), ‘Apostle of the Indies’ and ‘of Japan’, and an original member of the Jesuits. Of aristocratic Spanish-Basque family, in 1534 with StIgnatius Loyola and five others he made a vow of poverty and service in the Holy Land or wherever the Pope should send them. In response to a petition for Jesuits from the Portuguese ambassador to Paul III, Xavier sailed from Lisbon in 1541. In 1542 he reached Goa, which he made his headquarters. He went on to Travancore, Malacca, the Molucca Islands and Sri Lanka. In 1549 he landed in Japan, where he founded a Church which endured through great persecution. He died on his way to China. His work is remarkable for the extent of his journeys and the large number of his converts. Feast day, 3 Dec.

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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Francis Xavier, St." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Francis Xavier, St." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-FrancisXavierSt.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Francis Xavier, St." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-FrancisXavierSt.html

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Francis Xavier, Saint

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

Francis Xavier, Saint (1506–52) Early Jesuit missionary, often called the Apostle to the Indies. He was an associate of St Ignatius of Loyola, with whom he took the vow founding the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). From 1541 he travelled through India, Japan, and the East Indies, making many converts. He died while on a journey to China. His feast day is December 3.

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Xavier, St Francis

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

Xavier, St Francis (1506–52), Spanish Catholic missionary; known as the Apostle of the Indies. One of the original seven Jesuits, from 1540 he travelled to southern India, Sri Lanka, Malacca, the Moluccas, and Japan, making thousands of converts. His feast day is 3 December.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Xavier, St Francis." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Xavier, St Francis." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-XavierStFrancis.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Xavier, St Francis." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-XavierStFrancis.html

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Xavier, St Francis

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | Copyright

Xavier, St Francis (1506–52), a Spaniard, one of the founders of the Society of Jesus (see Jesuits), and a famous missionary in the Far East. He died on his way to China and is buried in Goa.

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Xavier, St Francis." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Xavier, St Francis." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-XavierStFrancis.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Xavier, St Francis." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-XavierStFrancis.html

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