Universal Mark
Patron Saint of the Xaverian Missionaries
“ What profit is it, if you gain the whole world, and lose your soul? ”
In the sixteenth century, following the great geographical discoveries,
the first inter-oceanic routes were mapped out
that would penetrate territories never visited before by Europeans. At this time, Francis Xavier,
a man born to a noble family in the Kingdom of Navarre, a university student in Paris, and a participant,
along with Ignatius of Loyola and other colleagues, in the founding of the Society of Jesus, embarked on a journey that would,
over the course of eleven years, take him along the coasts and pathways, to the cities and hamlets, of Africa, India,
Ceylon, Malacca, Singapore, the Moluccan Islands, Japan and the periphery of China.
Propagating the Christian faith, caring for the sick and needy, he disseminated information on European civilisation
and described in his letters the customs and beliefs he observed in these then-unknown peoples and countries.
Wherever he went, he left a stamp that remains alive today, five centuries later; an indelible cultural imprint
that combines the values of East and West; a trail of personal generosity, solidarity and spiritual preoccupation
that make up the universal hallmark of Francis Xavier.
Navarre
In the Castle of Javier , a defensive bastion of the Kingdom of Navarre , the third male child of the noble family formed
by Juan de Jaso and Marνa de Azpilicueta was born on 7 April 1506: Francisco. It was in this setting,
encircled by Pyrenean valleys and the plains leading down to the Ebro river, peopled by shepherds and raftsmen,
that Francis Xavier spent his childhood and adolescence; this was where his character and his persevering nature were forged,
and this was the place from which he took the name by which he is universally known: Xavier (or Javier).
In Navarre , the birthplace of Xavier and the region of which he is the patron saint, references to his name and his memory
have been a constant in every sphere. Today, the Castle of Javier is a leading historical and spiritual focal point,
the universal symbol of Navarre , a place where thousands upon thousands of visitors congregate every year pilgrims,
tourists, students from Navarre , Spain and all over the world, all of them attracted by the unique figure of St. Francis Xavier.
Paris
Between the ages of 19 and 30 Francis Xavier lived in Paris as a student and professor. This is where his inner transformation
became complete. The words and testimony of Ignatius of Loyola convinced him, together with other colleagues,
to undertake the singular adventure of forming a forward-looking group for spiritual renewal that would lead him to spread
the Catholic faith to the edges of the known world: the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), a religious order that would from
that moment on be an extraordinary exponent of the Catholic Church.
Today, Paris is still a cosmopolitan, monumental, bustling, university city, just as it was when Xavier knew it,
a city that still retains numerous traces of (and references to) his figure and his indelible cultural and spiritual legacy.
Italy
Xavier arrived in Italy in 1537 with the intention of making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; however,
the Pope instructed him to evangelise the East Indies . In the three years after his arrival in Italy ,
Xavier achieved personal and spiritual maturity. He was ordained as a priest, he worked in hospitals with
the incurably sick and he preached and took a decisive part in the inception of the Society of Jesus.
In all the cities and places in Italy that Xavier lived during this important stage in his life Venice,
Rome, Monselice, Vicenza, Loreto, Bologna direct and indirect references to his figure and his spiritual legacy still remain today.
Portugal
Between June 1540 and April 1541, Xavier lived in Portugal while waiting to start his journey to the East Indies .
His time in Lisbon and more briefly in the towns of Palma and Almeirin was a fruitful period in which Xavier embraced
the Portuguese spirit of the time and established close liaisons with notable members of the clergy and nobility,
most particularly with King John III, with whom he forged a friendship that would last until his death. In addition,
in Portugal , the gateway to the Orient, Xavier sensed the new horizons of his great adventure as a missionary
of the universal Church in Asia and as the spiritual agent of the Portuguese crown. Today, Lisbon and other places in Portugal
still retain the memory of Xavier as a highly respected and venerated figure who is part of their own history.
Africa
On his journey towards India , Xavier skirted the entire African continent on an interminable voyage with stops in Mozambique ,
Kenya and Socotra , only touching on the realities of this continent of stunning natural wealth, which today is trying to escape
from the numerous misfortunes afflicting it: war, misery, injustice, hunger, drought and disease.
Very few material vestiges remain from Xavier's journey along these lands, but the same generous spirit is still strongly maintained
by the thousands of missionaries and volunteers who, following in Xavier's footsteps, live in the various African nations today.
All of them share their lives with the poorest, helping them with their educational, health and occupational needs
and providing invaluable moral and spiritual support for their personal development.
India
India was Xavier's first destination on the Asian continent, the country that he would visit on the most occasions
and for the longest time during his missionary travels, and the place of his definitive burial. For all these reasons,
India today preserves the living imprint of Xavier, of this name that is venerated and invoked equally by Hindus,
Muslims and Christians; a name that is visible in churches and schools, in books and on postage stamps.
A country rich in vitality, sentiments, colour and traditions, with a profound spiritual sensitivity and a genuine mosaic
of religions in which the legacy of Xavier continues beating today through the generous, selfless work of so many missionaries,
who help, cure, teach and console the most needy. A country that continues to impress visitors with the same force that made
such an impact on Xavier on his arrival in 1542, which led him to say of it that: "I never saw anything I wanted more.
Sri Lanka, Malaysia e Indonesia
From India , Francis Xavier travelled to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka ) and there he experienced clashes between different kingdoms on the island.
Some time later he set sail for Malacca, Malaya's royal city and the most important commercial port in Asia at the time.
Over his five visits Malacca came to serve him as a base from which to prepare his journeys to the Moluccan Islands , Japan and China.
The Moluccas, an archipelago of a thousand Indonesian Islands , was the scene of a tireless fifteen months of activity for Xavier.
He overcame all sorts of dangers and visited several islands where small Christian communities existed.
Today the remains of monuments can still be seen that bear witness to the important strategic role played by this area in the 16th century,
both in terms of world trade and as a cultural meeting point. In some places the memory of Xavier also lives on through communities,
churches and social programmes to help the poor; in others, however, it has been darkened by cruel internecine wars
that have sown the seed of hatred amongst members of other religions.
Japan
Xavier lived in various coastal and inland regions of Japan over the course of twenty-seven months between August 1549 and November 1551.
During this time, despite finding himself in an unknown and dangerous country, he learnt the rudiments of the Japanese language,
spearheaded the translation of the catechism into Japanese, conversed with farmers, traders and craftsmen,
held debates with Buddhist bonzes and samurais, was received by three of the most powerful men of that time and described in his letters
the magnificent impression that he had formed of the Japanese people.
Today, Francis Xavier is known to most Japanese his name, and frequently his portrait,
appear in the history books used in Japanese schools and he is revered as the first Western intellectual who understood
Japanese culture and related it to the Western nations. His memory is upheld not only by Catholics but also by Japanese society as a whole,
which regards him as one of its own historical figures.
Singapore and China
In July 1552, sailing towards China , Xavier penned what would be his penultimate letters in the strait of Singapore .
That then-uninhabited place would, in the nineteenth century, become a heavily populated city-state, a trading port to succeed
the Portuguese colony of Malacca, and a major air transport hub. For all these reasons, Singapore is today a paradigm of the relations
between East and West that were advocated by Xavier in the sixteenth century.
Death surprised Xavier before he could achieve his most difficult objective: entering China . On the island of Sancian
which currently belongs to the Republic of China Xavier died on 3 December 1552. A church was raised here in the nineteenth century
and has been restored on various occasions, the last time with the help of Navarre , in memory of the Saint and containing his first tomb.
The island is not far from Canton , that huge Chinese metropolis that Xavier dreamed of, and Macao ,
the Portuguese colony that was integrated with China in 1999, where there are still monuments and reliquaries to Francis Xavier.