Feast of St. Francis Xavier 2023: On December 3, the Feast of St. Francis Xavier is celebrated to remember and honor the dedication and service that St. Francis Xavier showed as a Christian missionary in Asia and Europe. The body of St. Francis Xavier is being kept safe at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an important part of the holiday and a well-known place where Christians and Goans from all over the world go on pilgrimages. Go to the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa to see the feast in all its glory if you want to get to the heart of it.
How The Feast Of St. Francis Xavier Came To Be
He was born on April 7, 1506, in Xavier, Kingdom of Navarre. He was born into a wealthy farming family that lost a lot of money during the war with Aragon. Francis went to Paris to study and met Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius encouraged Francis to live a holy life and become a monk. Ignatius asked the famous question, “What will it profit a man to win the whole world and lose his soul?” because Francis was unsure at first.
The Jesuits are a group of people that Francis and Ignatius founded. They promised to live simply, stay pure, and follow the Pope’s rules. They also said they would go to the Holy Land to change the minds of “infidels.” Francis set out from Rome for the Indies in March 1540. It was almost by accident that he became one of the most important Christian missionaries after St. Paul. When one of the two Ignatius who had been chosen got sick, he asked Francis to go in his place. At first, he wasn’t chosen to be a missionary.
In the 12 years that followed, Francis was in charge of several missions abroad, mostly in the Portuguese Empire of Mozambique, Malacca, and most importantly, Goa. He was the first Christian missionary to go to Japan, then to Borneo, and finally to the Moluccas. He was known as the Apostle of the Indies because of how hard he worked to spread the gospel. Francis passed away on December 3, 1552, from a fever on Shangchuan Island. He was getting ready to sail to mainland China to continue his work as a missionary.
On March 12, 1622, Gregory XV made Francis a saint. In Goa’s Bom Jesus Basilica, the body of Saint Francis Xavier is kept in a silver casket.
How To celebrate The St. Francis Xavier Feast
Learn about his life.
Reading the life story of St. Francis Xavier can help you learn more. That way, you’ll understand how hard it was for him to be a missionary.
Seek him out at a church or shrine.
Go to a church or shrine that is named after him because it has a very important past. On this day, events are held in those places to remember him.
Family prayer time
Your family should pray for St. Francis Xavier. You can even have a small dinner with close family and friends.
Goa Memorable Day: Best Wishes, Greetings, Captions
5 Facts About this day
13 months before he finally got to Goa
Before getting to Goa, he quickly left Rome and went through many Asian countries and Lisbon.
He passed away in China.
After getting very sick, he passed away while waiting for a boat to take him to China.
The body is kept in a hollow silver box.
On the casket are marks that show how the saint healed the sick and hurt during his life.
Every ten years
The body has only been taken down to be shown to the public once every 10 years since 1994.
The saint’s right hand
His right arm is now kept in a metal cabinet at Il Gesù in Rome, where the saint blessed and baptized people with it.
What It Means To Honour This Day
Remember what he did as a missionary
Today is the day we remember his work as a missionary. An important preacher in Roman Catholic history was Francis Xavier. He played a key role in the growth of Christianity in Japan, India, and the Malay Archipelago.
A reason to get together
The coastal state of Goa celebrates the Feast of St. Francis Xavier with a lot of people. The remains of St. Francis Xavier will be shown to many people at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa.
It’s a chance to honor other saints.
By remembering this day, we can also honor all the other saints who are important to Christianity. We can also say prayers for our family and friends who have truly left this world.
FEAST OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER DATES
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | December 3 | Sunday |
| 2024 | December 3 | Tuesday |
| 2025 | December 3 | Wednesday |
| 2026 | December 3 | Thursday |
| 2027 | December 3 | Friday |
