Francis Xavier

:Not to be confused with St. Francis Borgia, another Spanish nobleman turned Jesuit.

Missionary work

Francis Xavier devoted much of his life to missions to remote countries. As King John III of Portugal desired Jesuit missionaries for the Portuguese East Indies, he was ordered there in 1540. He left Lisbon on April 7, 1541, together with two other Jesuits and the new viceroy Martin de Sousa, on board the Santiago. From August of that year until March 1542, he remained in Mozambique, and reached Goa, India, the capital of the then Portuguese colonies, on May 6. His official role in Goa was Apostolic Nuncio. He spent the following three years operating out of Goa.

Related Topics:
King John III of Portugal - Portuguese East Indies - 1540 - Lisbon - April 7 - 1541 - Viceroy - Martin de Sousa - 1542 - Mozambique - Goa - India - Portuguese - Colonies - May 6 - Apostolic Nuncio

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On September 20, 1542, he left for his first missionary activity among the Paravas, pearl-fishers along the east coast of southern India, north of Cape Comorin. He then exerted himself to convert the king of Travancore to Christianity, on the west coast, and also visited Ceylon. Dissatisfied with the results of his activity, he turned eastward in 1545, and planned a missionary journey to Macassar, on the island of Celebes, in today's Indonesia.

Related Topics:
September 20 - Paravas - Cape Comorin - Travancore - Ceylon - 1545 - Macassar - Celebes - Indonesia

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After arriving in Malacca in October of that year and waiting there three months in vain for a ship to Macassar, he gave up the goal of his voyage. He left Malacca on January 1, 1546 and landed on Amboyna, where he stayed until mid-June. He then visited other Molucca Islands, including Ternate and More. Shortly after Easter 1546, he returned to Ambon Island, and then Malacca. During this time period, frustrated by the elites in Goa, St. Francis wrote to King D. João III for an Inquisition to be installed in Goa. However this Inquisition did not begin till eight years after his death.

Related Topics:
Malacca - January 1 - 1546 - Amboyna - Molucca Islands - Ternate - More - King D. João III - Inquisition - This Inquisition

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In December 1547, in Malacca, Francis Xavier met a Japanese nobleman from Kagoshima called Anjiro. Anjiro had heard from Francis in 1545 and had travelled from Kagoshima to Malacca with the purpose of meeting him. Anjiro had fled Japan some years earlier after being charged with murder, and he poured out his heart to Francis Xavier: detailing his former life and the customs and culture of his homeland. Anjiro was a samurai and as such provided Xavier with a perfect mediator and translator for the mission to Japan that was his inevitable future. ?I asked whether the Japanese would become Christians if I went with him to this country, and he replied that they would not do so immediately, but would first ask me many questions and see what I knew. Above all, they would want to see whether my life corresponded with my teaching?All the Portuguese merchants who have come from Japan assure me that by going there I could render God our Lord much service, and more than among the peoples of India, because the Japanese are a race greatly given to the exercise of reason.? Thus intrigued, Xavier baptized Anjiro?who was now called Paulo de Santa Fe?and began to plan for a mission to this recently discovered land. Anjiro helped Francis Xavier to translate a few paragraphs of Christian doctrine into phonetic Japanese which Xavier learned by heart.

Related Topics:
1547 - Japan - Kagoshima

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He returned to India in January 1548. The next fifteen months were occupied with various journeys and administrative measures in India.

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Then due to displeasure at the unchristian life and manners of the Portuguese, which impeded proselyting work, he went forth once again into the unknown Far East. He left Goa on April 15, 1549, stopped at Malacca, and visited Canton. He was accompanied by Anjiro, two other Japanese men, the father Cosme de Torrès and Brother Juan Fernandez. He had taken with him presents for the "King of Japan", since he was intending to introduce himself as the Apostolic Nuncio.

Related Topics:
April 15 - 1549 - Canton

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Xavier reached Japan on July 27, 1549, but it was not until August 15 that he went ashore at Kagoshima, the principal port of the province of Satsuma, on the island of Kyushu. He was received in a friendly manner and was hosted by Anjiro's family until October 1550. From October to December 1550, he resided in Yamaguchi. Shortly before Christmas, he left for Kyoto, but failed to meet with the Emperor. He returned to Yamaguchi in March 1551. There he was permitted to preach by the daimyo, but not knowing the Japanese language he had to limit himself to reading aloud the translation of a catechism.

Related Topics:
July 27 - Satsuma - Kyushu - 1550 - Yamaguchi - Kyoto - 1551 - Daimyo - Japanese language - Catechism

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Ultimately his sojourn was fruitful, as attested by congregations established in Hirado, Yamaguchi, and Bungo. Xavier worked for more than two years in Japan and saw his successor-Jesuits established. He then decided to return to India. During his trip, a tempest forced him to stop on an island near Guangzhou, China. There he saw the rich merchant Diégo Pereira, an old friend from Cochin, who showed him a letter of Portuguese being held prisoners in Guangzhou asking for a Portuguese ambassador to talk to the Chinese Emperor in their favor. Later, he stopped at Malacca on December 27, 1551 and was back in Goa by January, 1552.

Related Topics:
Hirado - Bungo - Guangzhou - China - Diégo Pereira - Cochin - December 27 - 1552

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On April 17 he set sail, with Diégo Pereira, leaving Goa on board the Santa Cruz for China. He introduced himself as Apostolic Nuncio, and Pereira as ambassador of the King of Portugal. Shortly thereafter, he realized that he had forgotten his testimonial letters as an Apostolic Nuncio. Back in Malacca, he was confronted by the capitan Alvaro de Ataide de Gama, who now had total control over the harbor. The capitan refused to recognize his title of Nuncio, asked Pereira to resign from his title of ambassador, named a new crew for the ship, and demanded that the gifts for the Emperor be left in Malacca.

Related Topics:
April 17 - Alvaro de Ataide de Gama

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In early September 1552, the Santa Cruz reached the Chinese island of Shangchuan, 14 km away from the southern coast of mainland China, near Taishan, Guangdong, 200 km south-west of what later became Hong Kong. At this time, he was only accompanied by a Jesuit student, Alvaro Ferreira, a Chinese man called Antonio, and a Malabar servant called Christopher. Around mid-November he sent a letter saying that a man had agreed to take him to the mainland in exchange for a large sum of money. Having sent back Alvaro Ferreira, he remained alone with Antonio.

Related Topics:
Shangchuan - Taishan - Guangdong - Hong Kong - Alvaro Ferreira - Malabar

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