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Francis Xavier
Francis was the youngest of five children in the family formed by Juan de Jasso, a Doctor of Law from the University of Bologna and president of the Royal Council of Navarre, and the noblewoman Maria de Azpilcueta. The Castle of Javier, a defensive bastion of the Kingdom of Navarre against Aragon, was the place where Francis was born and spent his childhood, the rock upon which his dynamic, decisive personality and generous and spiritual nature was formed, which he would retain until the end of his life.
At the age of 19, Francis left for Paris where he studied Philosophy at the Sorbonne. Here he underwent a complete inner transformation, fostered by his deep friendship with Ignatius of Loyola, which led him to change the direction of his life and participate with him in the founding of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), a forward-thinking group concerned with spiritual renovation, and to disseminate the Catholic faith to the ends of the world.
He travelled to various cities in Italy – Venice, Bologna, Vicenza and Rome – and Portugal, where he forged a firm friendship with King John III. He started his voyage to the East Indies as the Papal Representative from Lisbon.
He arrived in India, travelled along the Pearl Fishery Coast and even reached Ceylon and Malipur. In 1545 he travelled to Malacca, a strategic point on Portuguese trading routes to the Orient, and continued his mission to the Moluccan Islands, after a hazardous journey of 3,500 kilometres.
Subsequently Francis reached the coast of Japan, a country that had been unknown to the West until just a few years earlier, when Europeans heard from Marco Polo of the land with the mythical name of ‘Cipango'.
Francis Xavier was the first Westerner to penetrate Japanese territory, to visit its cities, talk with its inhabitants, wear its clothing, eat its food and admire its customs. Through Francis's letters, the West received the first testimony of the existence of this new world.
He travelled to Kagoshima, Hirado, Kyoto, Bungo and Yamaguchi, where he presented himself to the powerful daimio Ouchi Yoshitaka, who allowed him to preach in the streets of his city. Xavier went on to become very popular with the local citizens and became a prototype of Western civilisation, previously unknown in Japan.
From Japan, Francis returned to India and embarked on a new expedition with the idea of penetrating the great Chinese empire, the most populous and powerful in the Orient, where the entry of any foreigner was punishable by death. He attempted to enter the country on several occasions, but died at the threshold of China on Sanchuan Island, close to Canton. His body was transferred to Malacca, amidst great public zeal and devotion, and subsequently to Goa, where it has been venerated ever since.
The Catholic Church proclaimed him a Saint and named him the patron of youth and foreign missions. His native land, Navarre, proclaimed him as the patron of the Kingdom at the same time. Remembrance and reverence for Francis Xavier spread across every continent and today he is still an essential reference of universal culture.
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