Transcript Unit 11: St. Francis Xavier and the Missionary Church

Unit 11:
St. Francis Xavier
and the Missionary Church
Aims for Unit: (a) church is called to
proclaim peace and justice
(b) Disciples must witness to peace
and justice through service
(c) discipleship demands respect for
different cultures…look to Xavier!
Life of Francis Xavier
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Francis Xavier was born
into an aristocratic
Navarre family on the 7th
of April, in the year 1506.
His father was often
absent from the
castle….raised by his
mother
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Thus, he often was
travelling on diplomatic
missions to Castile or to
France as the overseer of
the castle.
Life of Francis Xavier
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At the beginning of
September 1525, Francis
Xavier (age 19) goes to
Pamplona to try the
religious life…why?
Francis Xavier = often the
younger son from a
noble family would take
up the religious life in
some form
Xavier and a group of
students go to the
University of Paris…
Francis Xavier and Ignatius
In 1529 Xavier met
Ignatius Loyola in
Paris….
 Ignatius = 16 years
older than Francis!
 He had fought on the
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opposing side
against Xavier's two
older brothers….
Francis Xavier and Ignatius
Ignatius made Xavier realize that the most
important thing a person could do was to devote
his life to God rather than look for professional
success, fame, power or glory.
 Main Idea: "What does it profit a man if he
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shall gain the whole world, and lose his
own soul?" (Matthew, 16: 26).
What does this mean?
And so we have the Society of Jesus…
The First Journey of Francis Xavier:
India (1541-1545)
Xavier’s first major journey: Goa
served as the setting for Xavier's
preaching. He also cared for the
sick at the Hospital Real, where he
also lived
 He cared both for prisoners and
for patients suffering from leprosy.
 Her taught them about the basic
principles of the church and the
sacraments
From Goa, he was sent down to
the Ceylon, modern day Sri Lanka
to work with the fishing
communities.
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Style of teaching…gentle and
inclusive = what does this
mean?
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The Second Journey of Francis Xavier:
Malacca, Indonesia (1545)
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Malacca (at that time) = Portuguese trading port, affluent and
cosmopolitan, filled with sailing ships
Xavier was in Malacca five times between September, 1545 and
December, 1552.
Malacca served as a kind of headquarters for the Xavier while on his
trips around the neighboring territories of the Moluccas
It was also from Malacca that Xavier set off on his final great
mission = to bring the Gospel to China.
The Second Journey of Francis Xavier:
the Moluccas, Indonesia (1546)
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The Moluccas were the main
setting for Xavier's apostolic
work…what is our definition
of this??
Tradition relates that on his
visit to the island of Ceram, a
land populated by headhunters, he lost his crucifix
during a storm off the coast.
Finally landing on the beach, a
crab is said to have come out
of the water bearing the
crucifix and returned it to
him.
The continued existence of
Christianity in these islands up to
the present
 Again, what was Xavier’s style of
preaching to others?
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Inclusion!!