Bio

 

Born in a Spanish castle to a noble and religious family, Francis led a life of privilege that was yet marked by war, in which his brothers were involved. Almost traditionally destined as a younger brother to enter religious life, Francis studied in Xavier and then Paris. While there, he befriended Peter Favre and Ignatius of Loyola. Though he resisted at first, Francis did eventually join Ignatius and Peter as they began what became the Jesuit order, taking vows for religious life and aiming to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He also, at Ignatius’ request, developed the “Spiritual Exercises” - a series of month-long meditations on charity and service.

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Francis was ordained in Venice in 1537. The mission to the Holy Land had not been working out for over a year, and so the group allowed the Pope to send them where needed. When another of the seven members fell ill, Ignatius asked Francis to take his place on a mission to India.

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His first post was in Goa, which had been colonized by the Portuguese, many of whom had been convicts or sailors hoping to leave Europe for one reason or another. He spent five months in hospitals and out preaching. He then spent three years on the coast with pearl harvesters, who had been baptized in an act of political safety years before, and then forgotten. Though he worked diligently to translate, it's said that his goodness and kindness transcended language. Brahmin and Muslim leaders in the area were unhappy with Francis’ work, of course, and his home was frequently burned. He once escaped death only by hiding in a tree. But he established 40 churches, drew up plans for schools, and baptized 10,000 before relocating to Indonesia.

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On his way, a story goes that his ship encountered a fierce storm. Very afraid, Francis threw his crucifix into the sea, asking God to calm the storm. This did appear to work, as the storm ceased, but then he began to mourn the loss of the cross. Once arriving on land in Malacca, however, he saw a crab walking along the sand towards him, with the crucifix in his claws. There he founded several more churches before meeting a man who had fled Japan. His name was Anjirō, and he had heard about Francis and wanted to be baptized. He told Francis all about Japan, and Francis wanted to go there, but had to return first to Goa for a time to attend to administration. In April 1549, he was able to leave for Japan with Anjirō as interpreter. Though he was welcomed, he found the language a much larger barrier than he had expected and also realized that many of the ways of living and evangelizing that he’d done in other areas were not appreciated in the same way. The local daimyo then also banned his subjects from converting to Christianity. While he did create missions while there, many new followers had to go underground with their new faith that was being persecuted. He was there for over 2 years.

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As a representative of Portugal, Francis was asked to persuade the Chinese Emperor for the release of Portuguese prisoners. After stopping again in Goa and Malacca, he set sail for China, hoping to also establish missions there, but he was detained on an island off the coast where he fell ill and died of a fever, waiting for the boat to take him to the mainland. He was buried on the island, and later, his remains were transferred to Malacca and then Goa. One of his arm bones is kept in Rome, while another is kept in China.

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Francis was known to always provide for pastoral care for the Christian communities he founded, even after moving elsewhere, and likely baptized about 30,000 people in his lifetime. In his letters, he seems to have always been full of joy despite hardships, and he was always enthusiastic; even being described as walking enthusiastically. This was all despite struggling with depression and feeling lonely and inferior for much of his life, as well. There were also many miracles attributed to him, including saving a baby from drowning in a well, healing lepers, sweetening and making seawater drinkable, and taking money from his empty pockets to give away.

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On the other hand, however, it must be acknowledged that Francis certainly had an “othering” view of the populations he worked with, especially in India, and he is recorded as having written racist remarks about their appearance and abilities.