Francis Xavier

(lithography 18th cent.) (link)

Feast Day December 3

Patron of Missionaries, Foreign Missions, India, Japan

Situations Evangelization, Foreign Travel, Missionary Work

Professions Missionaries, Navigators, Travelers

Saint Francis Xavier was a Navarrese-Basque Jesuit missionary who is considered one of the greatest missionaries since Saint Paul. Born in 1506, he co-founded the Society of Jesus with Ignatius of Loyola. He traveled to India, Southeast Asia, and Japan, baptizing tens of thousands. He died in 1552 on an island off the coast of China.