Truly great men tend to lead simple, humble lives. One such man was Francis Xavier.
Along with Ignatius Loyola, Francis Xavier was one of the original founding companions of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He was born in 1506 into a noble family living in the castle of Xavier in northern Spain. At 19, he left to study in the University of Paris. He studied theology after earning a masters in philosophy.
A young man in love with the world, his ambition was to be a famous professor at the University of Paris. It was there that he met Ignatius of Loyola, a fellow student. Proud and autocratic, Francis Xavier initially avoided Ignatius but he gradually came under his spiritual influence. Encouraged by him to look at life differently, his life was completely transformed. Instead of seeking his own name and fame, he decided to devote his life to glorifying the Name and Glory of God in everything.
In August 1534, Ignatius, Xavier and five other companions pronounced their vows at Montmartre in Paris and were ordained priests in 1537. Later, they placed themselves in the service of Pope Julius III. Eventually God led them to found the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1540.
In 1541, Ignatius sent Francis Xavier on a mission to the Portuguese colony of Goa. He arrived a year later having visited places like Mozambique and Kenya on the way. After spending time in south India, he set out on travels in the Far East until he arrived in Japan in 1549. He then wanted to enter China. Denied entry, he waited on Shangchuan island, off the southern coast of China, for three months, but exhausted and ill, he died on December 3, 1552, with no one but a sole companion by his side.
Hailed a saint in his own lifetime, Francis was officially declared a saint by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. December 3 is his feast day.
What is his relevance and message for us today?
Given the exemplum of his life of service and self-sacrifice, and the enthusiasm and zeal with which he conducted his life’s work, Francis Xavier continues to have a relevance and a message that resonates through the centuries.
When Ignatius asked him to go to the Far East, he was overjoyed and, according to reports, everywhere he went he did so with joy. His mission was difficult. Seventeenth-century sea voyages could be mortally dangerous. Also, for much of his life he struggled with feelings of loneliness. But his absolute confidence in God gave him the strength and resilience to overcome the many obstacles and reverses that beset his way, and he continued to live his life with zeal for the Greater Glory of God. That is the message his life proclaims to us: that regardless of the trials and tribulations life throws at us, like him, we should always strive forward with confidence in God, and for the Greater Glory of God.
With his passion for God’s work, and his pietistic hopes and ambitions, and his zeal to overcome all challenges, Francis Xavier set standards of work and service in the spirit of magis, a Latin term meaning “more”. His example can give us the motivation to live and work in the spirit of magis — to achieve more and more.
Tolerant and understanding of other faiths and cultures, he was far ahead of his time in his multicultural plurality and embrace of diversity. He was successful in his missions because he could relate to people regardless of class, race, language, or belief.
He was among the first to begin the process of inculturation, developing a profound sense of cross-cultural understanding, and appreciating that God was present and revealed in all persons and beings and places and things, in all faiths and cultures, in all creation and the universe itself. This inculturation is so much the need of the present hour when we all need to absorb and learn from and share with each other in the spirit of openness to all things and all persons.
In testimony of his embrace of all cultures and religions, people of all faiths and backgrounds come to pray to his sacred relics which are preserved in Bom Jesus Basilica in Goa. The public exposition every 10 years (the next is to happen in November 2024) draws millions of people of all faiths from across the world. This event gives an opportunity of renewal and hope to each and every one to embark on a spiritual journey of reflection of personal faith and love.
Indeed, the inspiration that Francis Xavier can provide is for all of us to take life as an opportunity to walk with the poor and the marginalised, to be with the youth, especially with those who have lost hope, and very importantly, to take care of our mother earth in the context of climate change.
Francis Xavier opened the first Jesuit College of St Paul’s in Goa in 1542 with the desire to provide a good Jesuit education to local youth, and to socio-economically disadvantaged students. The bedrock of that education was to love and serve God and all beings. In this, Francis Xavier set the template for the Jesuit model of education based on service to the poor and marginalised keeping in mind magis, meaning “more”, and also “all for the greater glory of God”. It is this spirit that the motto of St Xavier’s College, Kolkata, “Nihil Ultra”, encapsulates and perpetuates. It means very simply, “Nothing Beyond”.
And that is how we can and need to keep the life and memory of St Francis Xavier alive in us and keep the flame of his inspiration ever burning in our life and in the life all around us, and all for the Greater Glory of God.
Author, SJ, is principal of St Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata