Saint Francis Xavier
Saint Francis Xavier, known as the Apostle of the Indies, was born in 1505 of a most illustrious family, whose castle was in the Pyrenees. He was sent to study at the college of Saint Barbara at Paris. Here he became the friend and associate of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Xavier was of a gay, ardent temperament, and enamored with the charms of worldly glory; but Saint Ignatius repeated to him so often the text from the Gospel, “What doth it profit a man to gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?” that Saint Francis began to think more seriously of eternity and of the things thereof. He at last yielded his great heart completely to God, and, in conjunction with Ignatius, founded the Society of Jesus. He preached the Gospel in the Indies and Japan with marvellous success, and his labors were attended with many miracles. He died whilst struggling in his burning zeal to carry the faith into China, breathing his last on the little island of Sancian on December 3, 1552. He was only in his forty-sixth year, but had reaped his harvest of immortal souls by the hundreds of thousands.
Saint Francis Xavier – 3rd December
“We must place all our trust in God.”
“If I should lose everything in this world, I would still have God, and that is more than enough.”
“It is impossible to find a saint who did not take the ‘two P’s’ seriously: Prayer and Penance.”
“Go, set the world on fire!”
1203 St Francis Xavier 2p LETTER 20251125My Lord Jesus (By St Francis Xavier)
O my Lord Jesus! Teach me to be generous; teach me to serve You as you deserve; to give, and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to ask for rest; to labour, seeking no reward, save that of knowing that I do Thy will.
Amen.
My God
O God I Love you, not simply to be saved, and not because those who fail in love to you will be punished with eternal fire.
You, you, my Jesus, have all-embraced me on the cross. You have borne the nails, the lance, much ignominy, numberless griefs, sweating and anguish, and death, and these on account of me and for me, a sinner.
Why, therefore, should I not love you, O, most loving Jesus? Not that in heaven you shall save me, nor lest for eternity you shall condemn me; not with the hope of any reward, but as you have loved me, so also will I love you, only because you are my King, and because you are my God.
Amen.
https://youtube.com/shorts/qMvJ1a3SXsMPrayer of Saint Francis Xavier for conversion of unbelievers
Eternal God, Creator of all things, remember that You alone have created the souls of unbelievers, which You have made according to Your Image and Likeness. Behold, O Lord, how to Your dishonor many of them are falling into Hell. Remember, O Lord, Your Son Jesus Christ, who so generously shed His Blood and suffered for them. Do not permit that Your Son, Our Lord, remain unknown by unbelievers, but, with the help of Your Saints and the Church, the Bride of Your Son, remember Your mercy, forget their idolatry and infidelity, and make them know Him, Who You have sent, Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, who is our salvation, our life, and our resurrection, through Whom we have been saved and redeemed, and to Whom is due glory forever.
Amen.
Prayer To St. Francis Xavier
O devoted Servant of God, Saint Francis Xavier, your heart was burning with love for Jesus. Impelled by his love, you went from country to country and spent yourself unto death to proclaim the name of Jesus and the good news of salvation. That is why the Father filled you with glory in heaven and preserved your body from corruption here on Earth. Filled with joy for these unique gifts, we join you in praising the Father. And Now we ask your intercession for ourselves.
(Mention your intention silently)
We ask you to obtain for us the fulfilment of these desires if they are pleasing to the father. And for everything together with you we praise the Father, through Jesus in the Spirit. Amen.
Powerful Intercessory Prayer to St. Francis Xavier
“Great Saint Francis,
well beloved and full of charity,
in union with you I reverently
adore the Divine Majesty.
I give thanks to God
for the singular gifts of grace
bestowed on you in life and
of glory after death,
and I beg of you,
with all the affection of my heart,
by your powerful intercession,
obtain for me the grace to live
a holy life and die a holy death.
I beg you to obtain for me …
(Mention your petition)
But if what I ask is not for
the glory of God and for my
well-being, obtain for me,
I beseech you,
what will more certainly
attain these ends.
Amen.”
Novena To St. Francis Xavier
Most amiable and most loving St. Francis Xavier, in union with thee I reverently adore the Divine Majesty. The remembrance of the Favours with which God blessed thee during life, and of thy glory after death, fills me with joy. I implore thee to obtain for me, through thy powerful intercession, the inestimable blessing of living and dying in the state of grace. I also beseech thee to obtain the special Favour I ask of this Novena.
(Make your request here…)
Priest: Pray for us, St. Francis Xavier
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let Us Pray
O God, who didst vouchsafe, by the preaching and miracles of Saint Francis Xavier, to join unto Thy Church the nations of the Indies, grant, we beseech Thee, that we who reverence his glorious merits may also imitate his example, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
Pray three times…
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be to The Father…
Herald of the Gospel
Almighty and everlasting God,
we thank you for your Servant Francis,
whom you called to preach the Gospel
to the peoples of Asia.
Raise up, we pray,
in this and every land
heralds and evangelists of your kingdom,
that your Church may proclaim
the unsearchable riches
of our Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Creator God
Creator God, inspired by the example of St. Francis, we pray to you for the courage to be missionaries, reaching out and leading others to Jesus. Like St. Francis, may we help those in need, may we live a life rooted in prayer and may we bring Christ to all those we meet. This we ask through your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Feast Day Prayer (3rd December)
Lord Jesus, you have sent us to proclaim the Gospel to all nations, and have promised to always remain with us. Look upon this family gathered on the feast day of St. Francis Xavier.
Pour out the abundance of your Spirit upon each one of our brothers and sisters especially on those who are called to ponder upon the journey made and to plan what has still to be done, so that we may offer a more authentic service to mission.
Grant that we may ever be faithful to the Gospel and to give an answer to the hopes which the world places before your church today. Stay with us, Lord, when we gather around the table of your Bread and your Word, and when we walk the paths of the world side by side with our brothers and sisters.
Grant that we all find ourselves in heaven, our homeland, after having been members of the same family on earth.
Amen.
Prayer for the zeal of St. Francis Xavier
O God, who through the preaching of Saint Francis Xavier won many peoples to yourself, grant that the hearts of the faithful may burn with the same zeal for the faith and that Holy Church may everywhere rejoice in an abundance of offspring. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
St Francis Xavier 3rd December
https://saintmichaelusa.org/1203-St-Francis-Xavier
The Life of Saint Francis Xavier (1506–1552)
- Apostle of the Indies and Japan
- Co-founder of the Jesuits
- Greatest missionary since St. Paul
Early Life and Conversion (1506–1536)
Francis was born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta on April 7, 1506, in the family castle of Xavier (Javier) in the Kingdom of Navarre (now northern Spain). He was the youngest son of a noble Basque family that had lost much of its power when Navarre was annexed by Castile.
At 19 he went to the University of Paris, the intellectual center of Europe, to study philosophy at the Collège Sainte-Barbe. There he met an older Basque student, Ignatius of Loyola, who was already undergoing his dramatic conversion. Francis, brilliant, ambitious, handsome, and athletic, initially resisted Ignatius’s persistent invitation: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36)?” Francis dreamed of worldly glory and an academic career.
After years of resistance, a serious leg injury, prolonged illness, and intense spiritual struggle broke his pride. On August 15, 1534, in the chapel of Montmartre (Paris), Francis joined Ignatius and five others in vows of poverty, chastity, and a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This small group became the first Jesuits. Francis was ordained a priest in Venice in 1537.
The Call to the Missions (1540–1542)
In 1540 King John III of Portugal asked Rome for priests to evangelize the new Portuguese colonies in India. Ignatius, now superior of the fledgling Society of Jesus, chose Francis Xavier. On his 35th birthday, April 7, 1541, Francis left Lisbon forever. He would never see Europe again.
The voyage to India took 13 months—the longest and most dangerous sea journey of the world had known up to that time. He arrived in Goa in May 1542.
The Decade of Fire: India, Southeast Asia, and Japan (1542–1552)
- India and the Fishery Coast (1542–1545)
- Found the Portuguese colonists living scandalously immoral and the native Parava people (pearl fishers) baptized but untaught.
- Learned Tamil, went village to village ringing a bell, gathering children and adults to teach catechism.
- Baptized tens of thousands with his own hand.
- Established schools, orphanages, and the first Jesuit seminary in Asia (College of St. Paul, Goa).
- Malacca and the Moluccas (1545–1547)
- Preached in the great trading port of Malacca (modern Malaysia).
- Sailed to the “Spice Islands” (Moluccas),” baptizing entire villages.
- Japan (1549–1551) – The First Christian Mission to Japan
- Met a Japanese fugitive, Anjirō (later baptized Paulo de Santa Fé), in Malacca and learned basic Japanese.
- Landed at Kagoshima, Japan, on August 15, 1549, with two Jesuit companions and Anjirō—the first Catholic missionaries ever in Japan.
- Faced hostility, language barriers, and poverty, but translated the Creed and basic prayers into Japanese.
- Met the daimyo of Yamaguchi, gained permission to preach, and baptized hundreds.
- Visited Kyoto (then in ruins) and left Japan convinced it was the greatest mission field he had ever seen.
- The Dream of China (1552)
- Returned to Goa, was named Provincial of the entire East.
- Sailed for China, the ultimate goal, because he believed if China were converted, all Asia would follow.
- Reached the island of Shangchuan (Sancian), 100 miles from Canton (Guangzhou), in August 1552.
- While waiting for a Chinese smuggler to take him illegally onto the mainland, he fell ill with fever.
Death and Immediate Glory
On December 3, 1552, at the age of 46, Francis Xavier died alone in a hut on Shangchuan Island, gazing at a crucifix. He was buried in a shallow grave with quicklime to hasten decomposition (so the bones could be transported). When the grave was opened two months later, his body was found perfectly incorrupt.
His remains were taken to Malacca, then to Goa, where they still rest in the Basilica of Bom Jesus. The right forearm (with which he baptized hundreds of thousands) was sent to Rome and is venerated in the Gesù Church.
Legacy
- Personally baptized an estimated 100,000–300,000 people (exact numbers are impossible to verify).
- Founded Christian communities that have lasted to the present day in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Japan.
- His letters to Europe ignited the modern Catholic missionary movement.
- Canonized together with Ignatius of Loyola in 1622.
- Declared “Patron of all Missions” by Pope Pius XI in 1927, sharing the title with St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
- Feast day: December 3.
St. Francis Xavier is often called the greatest missionary since the Apostle Paul.
Famous last words attributed to him on his deathbed:
“I loved nothing on earth but the salvation of souls… Now I go to see the God I have loved so much.”
A short prayer he taught the children of India is still recited daily by millions:
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
ABOUT CATHOLIC JAPAN
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