Saint Who?
Saints Who Were Missionaries
Saint Francis Xavier
Priest and religious († 1552) Feast: December 3
Who is the greatest missionary in the history of the Church? Most would agree that Saint Paul of Tarsus deserves that honor, but one saint might be considered a worthy challenger: Francis Xavier.
Although Francis was born in Spain, his noble family sent him to be educated at the University of Paris. There he met Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who had recently given up his dreams of being a soldier for Spain to become a soldier for Christ instead. Francis became one of the first members of Ignatius’ Society of Jesus.
According to witnesses, Francis brought tens of thousands of unbelievers into the Church as he traveled throughout India, Southeast Asia, and Japan. He baptized so many people that his arms grew tired while administering the sacrament. He won his converts through his preaching and patience, and he seemed to intuitively know how to adapt his methods to the society in which he was living. He led ordinary Catholics to a better practice of their faith and corrected selfish Christian leaders. Yet Francis’ success, just like Saint Paul’s, was rooted in his acceptance of the many crosses he endured as a missionary, such as dreadful living conditions, long journeys on foot, and violence from unbelievers. Francis died on an island off the coast of China, leaving the evangelization of the Chinese people to others.
Lord God, grant us a missionary zeal
in teaching others about Christ.
