St. Francis Xavier being commissioned for the missions by St. Ignatius of Loyola |
He was ordained a priest there in 1537, went to Rome in 1538, and in 1540 when the pope formally recognized the Society, was ordered, with Fr. Simon Rodriguez, to the Far East as the first Jesuit missionaries. King John III kept Fr. Simon in Lisbon, but Francis, after a year's voyage, six months of which were spent at Mozambique where he preached and gave aid to the sick, eventually arrived in Goa, India in 1542 with Fr. Paul of Camerino an Italian, and Francis Mansihas, a Portuguese. There he began preaching to the natives and attempted to reform his fellow Europeans, living among the natives and adopting their customs on his travels. During the next decade, he converted tens of thousands to Christianity.
He visited a large part of India, New Guinea, and the Philippines as well as Japan. In 1551, India and the East were set up as a separate province and Ignatius made Francis its first provincial. In 1552 he set out for China, landed on the island of Sancian within sight of his goal, but died before he reached the mainland. Working against great difficulties, language problems, inadequate funds, and lack of cooperation, often actual resistance from European officials, he left the mark of his missionary zeal and energy on areas that clung to Christianity for centuries. He was canonized in 1622 and proclaimed patron of all foreign missions by Pope Pius X.
Hi Fr Julian, thank you for your article. May I know the source of the image you used as I would like to use it as well, and need to ask the copyright holder for permission. Thank you!
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