"use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. His conversations in Malacca with Anjirō, a Japanese man deeply interested in Christianity, had shown that this people was cultured and sophisticated. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Francis-Xavier, Eternal Word Television Network - Biography of St. Francis Xavier, The Catholic Encyclopedia - Biography of Saint Francis Xavier, Francis Xavier - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Francis disembarked in Goa, the centre of Portuguese activity in the East, on May 6, 1542; his companion had remained behind to work in Lisbon. He was 46 when he died on China's Shangchuan Island on December 3, 1552. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini MSC (Italian: Francesca Saverio Cabrini; July 15, 1850 – December 22, 1917), also called Mother Cabrini, was an Italian-American Roman Catholic nun.She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Catholic religious institute that was a major support to her fellow Italian immigrants to the United States. His poverty that had so won the Paravas and Malays often repelled the Japanese, so he abandoned it for studied display when this was called for. He also became a priest, on June 24, 1537. After India, he visited Indonesia, … He is justly credited for his idea that the missionary must adapt to the customs and language of the people he evangelizes, and for his advocation of an educated native clergy—initiatives not always followed by his successors. Shortly afterward the Macuans on the southwestern coast indicated their desire for baptism, and after brief instructions he baptized 10,000 of them in the last months of 1544. Francis Xavier achieved priesthood in 1537 and on the Pope's order he became the first foreign missionary to visit India. May this prayer fill us with the same love that inspired Francis Xavier to work for the salvation of all. Saint Francis Xavier 3rd grade teacher Jeanne Rousseau had her littl ... That is just what our Saint Francis Xavier1st graders want to do when we receive some fresh snow. https://www.biography.com/religious-figure/saint-francis-xavier. © 2021 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. After missionary work for more than two...…. In September 1525 he went to begin studies at the College of Sainte-Barbe in the University of Paris. They implanted in Francis the motivation that carried him for the rest of his life and prepared the way for his recurrent mystical experiences. Though he passed away at a relatively young age, Xavier had accomplished much in his life. Inspired designs on t-shirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. He anticipated that the schools he planned and Portuguese pressure would keep them constant in the faith. He traveled to Sancian (Shangchuan) Island, near Canton, but was not able to access the mainland because borders had been closed to foreigners. On August 15, 1549, a Portuguese ship bearing Francis, the newly baptized Anjirō, and several companions entered the Japanese port of Kagoshima. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Francis was born in Navarre (now in northern Spain), at the family castle of Xavier, where Basque was the native language. When illness prevented one of the two originally chosen for the task from departing, Ignatius designated Francis as his substitute. The areas he evangelized in India have remained Catholic to the present day. Back in India, administrative affairs awaited him as the superior of the newly erected Jesuit Province of the Indies. August 15, 1549 the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier ( 1506–52 ) reached Goa in 1542 on China 's Island! Evangelized in India, where more Jesuits had since arrived to join him 20th-century estimate the... Famed missionary himself, he preached and spoke the word of God to sick! Was one of the Russian Czar Nicholas II in hospitals the year and a half he on. Steps helped him reach more converts in the faith to all who believe in you, your! Superior of the legends connected with st. 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