Francis Xavier

Navarrese missionary and co-founder of the Society of Jesus, first Christian missionary to Japan.

Francis Xavier was a Navarrese cleric and missionary who co-founded the Society of Jesus.^[1] He led the first Christian mission to Japan and conducted extensive missionary work across Asia.^[1][2] Pope Gregory XV declared Xavier a saint on 12 March 1622.^[3][4]

Quick Facts

Birth name

Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta

Born

7 April 1506

Birthplace

Xavier, Kingdom of Navarre

Died

3 December 1552

Place of death

Shangchuan Island, Chuanshan Archipelago, Xinning, China

Venerated in

Catholic Church
Anglican Communion
Lutheranism

Beatified

25 October 1619

Beatified place

Rome, Papal States

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Born on 7 April 1506 in the Castle of Xavier, he was the youngest son of a noble family.^[5] Xavier was ordained on 24 June 1537.^[6] He taught children and summoned them to catechism by ringing a bell through the streets.^[7] Xavier reached Japan on 27 July 1549 with Anjirō and three other Jesuits.^[8]

He worked for more than two years in Japan and established congregations in Hirado, Yamaguchi, and Bungo.^[8] In 1525, Francis began an eleven-year period of study at the University of Paris's Collège Sainte-Barbe, where he initially gained a name for himself as a high-jumper and athlete.^[9] On 7 April 1541, Xavier departed from Lisbon, becoming the first Jesuit to undertake missionary work in Asia.^[10][11]

What the cited sources add

A 1549 letter from F. Balthasar Gago states that the only book Francis read or studied was De institutione bene vivendi per exempla sanctorum.^[12] That same account describes Xavier as a charismatic man who understood people and lived the beginning of inculturation.^[4] A companion wrote that he never met anyone more filled with faith and hope, or more open-minded than Francis.^[4] The Xavier University account also states that Xavier was known to conduct his life's work with great vitality and zeal.^[4]

Pope Pius XI's 1927 decree named Francis Xavier co-patron of all foreign missions along with Thérèse of Lisieux.^[13][3]

References

Wikipedia, "Francis Xavier" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Saint Francis Xavier", Encyclopædia Britannica; "Who is Francis Xavier?", Xavier University (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Francis Xavier" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Attwater 1965, p. 141 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Francis Xavier" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: De Rosa 2006, p. 90; Pope Pius XI, "Apostolicorum in Missionibus", Papal Encyclicals Online, 14 December 1927 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
"Who is Francis Xavier?", Xavier University. facts only, no text reused. xavier.edu
Wikipedia, "Francis Xavier" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brodrick 1952, p. 17; Brodrick 1952, p. 17 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Francis Xavier" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: De Rosa 2006, p. 90; Brodrick 1952, p. 17 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Francis Xavier" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Astrain 1909; "'Saint Francis Xavier Apostle of the Indies And Japan', Lives of Saints, John J. Crawley & Co., Inc.", ewtn.com; "St. Pauls college, Rachol Seminary", Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Francis Xavier" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pacheco 1974, p. 477–480 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Francis Xavier" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brodrick 1952, p. 17; Brodrick 1952, p. 17; Brodrick 1952, p. 17 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Francis Xavier" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chen, "Macau and Catholic Sacred Music across the Sino-Western Divide", University of Michigan Press, 2026 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Francis Xavier" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brodrick 1952, p. 17; Wintz 2006a (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Francis Xavier" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kadič 1961, p. 12–18; Brodrick 1952, p. 17 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Pope Pius XI, "Apostolicorum in Missionibus", Papal Encyclicals Online, 14 December 1927. facts only, no text reused. papalencyclicals.net

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Francis Xavier (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.