Fast Facts about Saint Francis Xavier:

1)      St. Francis Xavier was born in the Castle of Xavier near Sanguesa, in Navarre, April 7, 1506.  He died on the Island of Sancian near the coast of China, on December 2, 1552.

2)      St. Francis Xavier was canonized by Pope Gregory XV along with St. Ignatius Loyola on March 12th, 1622.

3)      St. Francis Xavier’s body is incorrupt, and currently on display in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa in India.

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Saint Francis Xavier was born in the Castle of Xavier which is near Sanguesa, in Navarre; Spain, on April 7th, 1506 and he died on the Island of Sancian near the coast of China on December 2nd, 1552.  During the year 1525, Saint Francis Xavier traveled to Paris, France to attend the Collège de Sainte-Barbe.  It was there that he met Saint Ignatius Loyola, who at the time was a student there.  Also during that time, Saint Francis Xavier became friends with Saint Ignatius Loyola and after he graduated from the college, he went on to found the Society of Jesus also known as the Jesuits with Saint Ignatius Loyola.  After the order was approved by the pope in a papal bull, Saint Francis Xavier set out for Goa, India where he began preaching and ministering to many people, especially people that were sick and in the hospitals.  He also spent a great deal of time ministering to children by explaining the gospel and scriptures to them. 

After a while in Goa, Saint Francis Xavier started for Malacca in 1545 to continue his missionary work, and he also worked to help sinners turn back to God.  One year after working in Malacca, Saint Francis Xavier decided to set out for the Portuguese settlements on the islands of Molucca.  While there, he started preaching and working with the peoples on the islands of Amboyna, Ternate, Baranura, and many of the smaller islands.  In July of 1547, he again traveled to Malacca, it was here that he met a man named Anger (Han-Sir), who told him about the island nation of Japan.  During this time, Saint Francis Xavier first thought of introducing Christianity to Japan.   The Order, however, instructed him to continue preaching in Goa, India.  For the next six years, he continued ministering and preaching to the Catholics of Goa. 

During the next six years, a number of other missionaries arrived in Goa having been sent by Saint Ignatius Loyola.  It was then that he finally received the okay to travel to Japan.  Toward the end of June 1549, Saint Francis Xavier and a few companions set out for Japan.  They arrived in the city of Kagoshima in Japan on August 15th 1549.  Saint Francis Xavier and his companions spent the entirety of the first year in Japan learning how to read, write, and speak Japanese.  After this, Saint Francis Xavier and his companions set out preaching, converting, and ministering to the peoples of Japan.  Unfortunately, some Japanese rulers did not approve of Saint Francis Xavier and his companions work, so he was banished from the city of Kagoshima.  Saint Francis Xavier and his companions then set out to the central regions and southern regions/cities of Japan to preach the gospel.  By 1551, Saint Francis Xavier and his companions had created a small core group of Christian communities in southern Japan. 

After working for about two and a half years in Japan, he left this mission in charge of some of his companions and set out to return to Goa, arriving there in the beginning of the year of 1552.  Here, many domestic troubles awaited him. Some disagreements between the superior who had been left in charge of the missions, and other priests had to be ironed out.  Once this was done though, Saint Francis Xavier turned his thoughts to China, and from what he had heard in Japan, China appeared to be another place where he could introduce Christianity.  In 1552, he set out for China, and unfortunately, he ran into a Portuguese expedition, that was unfriendly to his mission of preaching in China, and unfortunately he was stranded on a small island near mainland China. 

During his time on the island, Saint Francis Xavier died of old age.  He was canonized with his life long friend St. Ignatius in 1622.  His body, which is incorrupt, is still enshrined in a glass casket at Goa, India in the church which formerly belonged to the Society which he founded. In the year 1614, by order of Claudius Acquaviva, the current General of the Society of Jesus, the right arm was severed at the elbow and conveyed to Rome.  An altar was erected to receive it in the church of the Gesu, where it is still on display today.