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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20241203
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CREATED:20241201T211658Z
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UID:12879-1733184000-1733270399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Francis Xavier
DESCRIPTION:ST FRANCIS XAVIER \nFrom Butler’s Lives of the Saints \n◊◊◊ \nFrancis Xavier was born in Spanish Navarre at the castle of Xavier\, near \nPamplona\, in 1506\, the youngest of a large family. He entered the college of St \nBarbara and in 1528 gained the degree of licentiate. It was here that he met \nIgnatius Loyola\, and later joined with him in the first band of seven who vowed \nthemselves to the service of God at Montmartre in 1534. With them he received \nthe priesthood at Venice three years later and in 1540 Ignatius appointed him to \njoin Fr Simon Rodriguez on the first missionary expedition the Society sent out \nto the East Indies… \nThey arrived at Goa\, India on May 6\, 1542\, after a voyage of thirteen \nmonths. Francis opened the mission with the Christians of Goa\, instructing \nthem in the principles of religion and forming the young to the practice of virtue. \nHe walked through the streets ringing a bell to summon the children and slaves \nto catechism. He offered Mass with lepers each Sunday. For the instruction of \nthe very ignorant or simple he versified the truths of religion to fit popular \ntunes\, and this was so successful that the practice spread till these songs were \nbeing sung everywhere\, in the streets and fields and workshops… \nBut before he left he heard about Japan for the first time from Portuguese \nmerchants. The next fifteen months were spent in endless traveling between \nGoa\, Ceylon and Cape Comorin\, consolidating his work and preparing for an \nattempt on that Japan into which no European had yet penetrated. In April 1549 \nFrancis set out\, accompanied by a Jesuit priest and lay-brother and three \nJapanese converts. On the feast of the Assumption they landed in Japan\, at \nKagoshima on Kyushu. \nFrancis set himself to learn Japanese. A translation was made of a simple \naccount of Christian teaching\, and recited to all who would listen. The fruit of \ntwelve months labor was a hundred converts\, but then the authorities began to \nget suspicious and forbade further preaching. So\, leaving one of the Japanese \nconverts in charge of the neophytes\, Francis pressed further with his \ncompanions and went by sea to Hirado\, north of Nagasaki. Before leaving \nKagoshima he visited the fortress of Ichiku\, where the baron’s wife\, her steward \nand others accepted Christianity. Xavier left the rest in the care of the steward\, \nand twelve years later the Jesuit lay-brother\, Luis de Almeida\, found these \nisolated converts still retaining their first fervor and faithfulness. \nAt Hirado the missionaries were well received by the ruler and they had \nmore success in a few weeks than they had had at Kagoshima in a year. Xavier’s \nobjective was Miyako (Kyoto)\, then the chief city of Japan. In due time he was \nable to be received by the authorities\, who gave him permission to preach and \nprovided an empty Buddhist monastery for a residence. He preached with such \nfruit that he baptized many in that city. \nFrancis decided to revisit his charge in India\, from whence he hoped to \nextend his mission to China. After dealing with matters in India\, Xavier set sail \nfor China. In august 1552 the convoy reached the desolate island of Shang- \nchwan\, half-a-dozen miles off the coast and a hundred miles south-west of Hong \nKong. Here Xavier fell sick with a fever and died on December 3. He was buried \non the island\, but his body which was found to be incorrupt\, was later moved to \nGoa. He was canonized in 1622 at the same time as Ignatius of Loyola.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-francis-xavier-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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