SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER I went to grade school at Saint Francis Xavier In Pittsburgh The church and school Were right around the corner from our home I have countless friends From Saint Francis Xavier And many of them Are still active in my life today While today The church is called RISEN LORD ( it was combined with Saint Leo the Great ) It still begs the question Who just was this Saint Francis Xavier This man---who my church and school Were named after Francis Xavier was a Jesuit missionary Who was a Basque Spaniard Who lived from 1506 to 1551 He was educated At the University of Paris Where he met Saint Ignatius of Loyola And both were ordained as priests 3 years later The foreign missions Has been an integral part Of the Jesuit ideal and vocation And in Francis Xavier---it was no different In 1541 Francis sailed to Goa in the East Indies At the invitation of the King of Portugal And was backed by a Papal brief Nominating him as Apostolic nuncio In the East The journey took 13 months And his mission there was to evangelize For the remaining 10 years of his life And he did just that By his example And by his preaching and writing verses On Christian truths He went among the poor As a poor man himself Slept on the ground And lived on only rice and water He would return to his headquarters From time-to-time in Goa And made plans to go further East Eventually Despite his propensity towards seasickness And difficulty in learning foreign languages He did make it to Japan His external appearance of poverty Was unsuccessful in Japan So he abandoned this tactic And began to dress in fine robes And present gifts to the rulers As a representative of the King of Portugal When he left Japan There were 2000 Christians---and growing But they were under fierce attack form the rulers there Counted among them were Paul Miki and his companions Who ALL died a martyr’s death in 1597 With many more to follow in the coming years Having established The roots of the Christian faith in Japan Francis returned to Goa Then decided to set out for China To try to establish roots there While on his way there Francis fell ill and died Practically alone on an island He became a Saint in 1622 And in 1927---Saint Francis Xavier Was declared the patron Saint of foreign missions Robert P. Wallman 2-9-12 Ps This one is for ALL my friends from Saint Francis Xavier---with whom I share so many beautiful memories Saint Francis Xavier’s feast day is December 3rd Saint Paul Miki and his 26 companions---February 6th And for OUR NEW POPE-FRANCIS 1st-a fellow Jesuit like Saint Francis Xavier Rudd - Official
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 17:55:48 +0000
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