“In Thee, O Lord, have I put my hope. Let me never be confounded.”
"O my God, I love You! Not because You have the power to grant heaven or hell, but simply because You are my God."
As we commemorate this first week of Advent, we recognize one of the Church’s great missionaries on his feast day, December 3: St Francis Xavier. He was born in the 1506 in the kingdom of Navarre in present-day Spain. His family had its castle near the important city of Pamplona. His family is of Basque origin and his family spoke the Basque language. He left home to study in Paris, where he met Ignatius of Loyola, who is from the same Basque region. Xavier and Ignatius were ordained priests in 1537. Along with several other companions who were all studying for the priesthood at the University of Paris, they founded the Society of Jesus in 1538, a new religious order commonly known to the Catholic world as the Jesuits. He heart called him to go to the missions. He left for India as a missionary, stopping in different Jesuit missions in Africa along the way. In 1549, Xavier began the first Christian mission in Japan where he served for over two years. In 1552, he set sail to begin the first Christian mission in China. However, he was not allowed to disembark his ship. He died of an illness while awaiting entry as he stayed on a nearby island off the coast of mainland China. He was canonized a saint by Pope Gregory XV in 1622, at the same time as Ignatius Loyola.
St Francis Xavier ranks among the greatest missionaries in Christian history. Historians place the number of baptisms that he administered at roughly 30,000 people, but that number may be much higher. A great deal can be learned from Xavier in the way he conducted his life and work with meaning and purpose. He was very driven in bringing Christ’s Gospel to others, yet he he saw God not just as a source of rewards or consequences, but always saw God as the ultimate source of love and grace. His missionary work was always accompanied by great enthusiasm and joy. He was always open to learning new things and open to adapting the Gospel message to a new culture.
