St. Francis Xavier

 

Saint Francis Xavier, S.J. (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta, 7 April 1506–3 December 1552), was a Navarrese-Basque Roman Catholic missionary, born in Javier (Xavier in Navarro-Aragonese or Xabier in Basque), Kingdom of Navarre (present-day Spain), and a co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a companion of St. Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits who took vows of poverty and chastity at Montmartre, Paris in 1534.

He led an extensive mission into Asia, mainly in the Portuguese Empire of the time, and was influential in evangelization work, most notably in India. He also was the first Christian missionary to venture into Japan, Borneo, the Maluku Islands, and other areas. In those areas, struggling to learn the local languages and in the face of opposition, he had less success than he had enjoyed in India. It was a goal of Xavier to one day to reach India.

Powered by shauryasoft.com