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Today’s missionary hero is one of the most outstanding missionaries of all time, a true “missionary’s missionary.” His name was Francis.
Francis was born on April 7, 1506 in Spain to a wealthy family. When he was seventeen, he was sent to the University of Parish to study. There he met another young man who was also a Spanish nobleman by the name of Ignatius of Loyola.
Ignatius had to work hard on his friend, Francis, to give his life to Christ. But, with persistence, Ignatius was successful. And in 1534 Ignatius and Francis, along with five other young men, vowed to serve Christ in a special way. They called their group the Society of Jesus, Jesuits, spiritual soldiers for Jesus Christ. All of the men were ordained priests in Venice.
After working as a nurse with another priest, Simon Rodríguez in Lisbon, Portugal, Francis set sail for the East Indies as a Jesuit missionary. Though the king wanted to give him a servant and money, Francis refused them. He said, “…the best means to acquire true dignity is to wash one’s own clothes and boil one’s own pot, unbeholden to anyone.”
The trip to the Indies took thirteen months because the ship had to winter in Africa. Despite severe seasickness, Francis preached every Sunday and nursed the slaves and convicts and others who were aboard the ship. Finally, the ship reached its destination of Goa, India, and Francis began living the life of a missionary. He ate only rice with water, slept on a mat on the floor, and baptized many people. Sometimes he baptized so many people in a day that he could hardly lift his arms from fatigue.
Unfortunately for Francis, he was not gifted at learning languages. He discovered, as many do, that it is much more difficult to learn a new language as an adult than it is as a child. Nevertheless, he continually struggled to learn enough so that he could share the stories of Jesus, of God, of heaven to the people. And he was successful.
Much of Francis Xavier’s missionary success was due not only to his love for the people, but also due to the fact that he always tried to incorporate the cultural practices of the people into his missionary work. For example, in India he found that the religious poverty of the missionaries had a great appeal. In India, therefore, he was in good shape for he was always poor. But when he got to Japan, he discovered that holy poverty was held in contempt. Therefore, Francis decided to use a different approach in Japan. He and his companions got dressed up in their very best clothes and went to the ruler of the people. To the ruler, he presented himself as a representative of the King of Portugal (which indeed he was) and gave the ruler letters from authorities in India. He also gave the ruler some presents, namely, a music box, a clock, and some glasses. With this approach, Francis Xavier won the way into the hearts of the Japanese rulers who, in turn, permitted his work to flourish.
Francis Xavier, the missionary who went to many lands for Christ, had one great desire: to bring Christ to China. However, on December 3, 1552, at age 46, he died on an island right off the coast of China. There were only four people who came to his funeral.
Francis Xavier was declared a saint of the Catholic Church in 1622 along with St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Philip Neri. His feast day is December 3. St. Francis Xavier is a patron saint of foreign missionaries, epidemics, navigators, Japan, and many more places.
