Franz Xaver

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Japanese portrait of Francisco de Xavier from the 17th century ( Kobe City Museum )
Xavier's trip to East Asia

Francisco de Xavier (also Francisco de Gassu y Javier, Francisco de Jassu y Azpilcueta ; born April 7, 1506 in Castillo de Javier near Sangüesa , Spain ; † December 3, 1552 on the island of Shangchuan Dao near Canton in China ), in German-speaking countries known as St. Franz Xaver , in Italian as Francesco Saverio , was one of the pioneers of Christian missions in East Asia and a co-founder of the Society of Jesus .

Church historical circumstances

Franz Xaver’s lifetime in Europe was dominated by the Reformation that began with Martin Luther . The Catholic Church had to put up with criticism for neglect of the spiritual office by its popes , secularization, lack of theological education of the clergy and obscure financial policy ( indulgences ). As a result, Protestant currents were hugely popular.

The church reacted to the developments with the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which triggered an internal renewal of the church. The newly founded Jesuit order ( Societas Jesu , SJ ) supported this internal church reform movement. The main aim of the order was and is the expansion, consolidation and defense of the Catholic faith, including through missionary work.

With the Bull Romanus Pontifex , the Portuguese were given patronage for proselytizing Asia. In return, they were granted the trade monopoly for this area. After Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India in 1498 , the Portuguese initially only operated trade.

In 1539 the Portuguese King John III asked . Pope Paul III for missionaries for the Portuguese possessions in the East Indies. After his appointment as apostolic nuncio for all of Asia , Francisco de Xavier y Jassu set out from Lisbon for India in 1541 and landed in Goa on May 6, 1542 . When the Pope's envoys were arrested in Goa , the Portuguese King John III was threatened . with opening the East to all Catholic Europeans. Finally the king pushed the proselytizing and sent Jesuits to the new colonies. This also began a more intensive Christian mission in India , to which Luís Fróis also made a strong contribution.

Missionaries tried to close those blank spots on the Catholic map. The aim was to convey the gospel to the Gentiles and to save their souls from damnation. They were supported in this by perks from the colonial administration for newly baptized Christians (food donations for the poor, lucrative positions with the Portuguese for the middle class and military support for rulers), which in turn, with the integration of proselytizing in their area of ​​responsibility, also a non-economic legitimation for their work tried to create.

Life

Javier Castle
Monument to Francisco de Xavier in the Japanese port town of Hirado
Full body relic of Franz Xaver in the Basílica do Bom Jesus in Goa

Franz Xavier was born in Xavier Castle (today: Javier near Pamplona ) in the former Kingdom of Navarre , which was conquered in 1512 by the troops of Ferdinand of Aragon . From 1525 he studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and lived in the Collège Sainte-Barbe . Franz Xaver and Peter Faber were among the first to join Ignatius of Loyola in 1533 and later to found the Jesuit order with him and three others . The ordination received Francis Xavier in 1537 in Venice. In 1539 he worked with Ignatius in Rome on the first draft of the Jesuit constitution.

The Portuguese King John III. asked Pope Paul III in the same year . for missionaries for the Portuguese possessions in the East Indies. After his appointment as apostolic nuncio for the whole of Asia, Francis Xavier set out from Lisbon with a royal Indian fleet for India in 1541 and landed in Goa on May 6, 1542. For three years he worked with great success in Goa and with the pearl fishermen and in the southern Indian area of Travancore .

Since many Indians were baptized out of opportunism , the problem arose that they soon returned to their old beliefs or adhered to their old rituals on the side. In 1545, in order to preserve the purity of the teaching, Francis Xavier asked the King of Portugal to send the Inquisition to India. From 1545 Franz Xavier missioned on the Indian peninsula of Malacca and on several islands of the Moluccas, discovered by the Portuguese in what is now Indonesia .

In 1547 on Malacca he met a Japanese whose reports convinced him to proclaim the Christian faith in Japan (Nippon) as well. After settling affairs of the order in Goa, which served as a kind of basis for his missionary work, he began the voyage to Nippon in 1549. On August 15, 1549, he was the first Christian missionary to reach the port of Kagoshima on the island of Kyushu . Franz Xavier spent around three years doing missionary work in Japan; in Yamaguchi he founded the first Christian community. When Franz Xavier went from there as a simple pilgrim on foot to Kyoto in January 1551 , he was not admitted by the Japanese Emperor Go-Nara . The Christian ideal of a holy life in poverty was inconceivable to the Japanese. After installing a group of Jesuits as his successors, he next attempted to preach the gospel in the Ming Empire of China .

It shouldn't come to that anymore: At that time, foreigners were not allowed to enter the Middle Kingdom. At the age of 46 he died on the island of Shangchuan Dao off the Chinese mainland in Canton Bay (today: Guangzhou ). Francis Xavier found his final resting place in Velha Goa (near Panjim , Goa , India ) in the Basílica do Bom Jesus in 1554 . In 1615 his right forearm was transferred to Rome as a relic ; it is located in the mother church of the Jesuit order Il Gesù .

The Jesuit was saved by Pope Paul V on October 25, 1619 and by Gregory XV. canonized on March 12, 1622 .

Letters

Franz Xaver's letters made a great impression in Europe . They were first printed in 1545 and sparked a new enthusiasm for the mission in many. The following short excerpt from a letter from the beginning of his work in India (January 15, 1544) gives an insight into what drove Franz Xavier:

“How many conversions remain because of the lack of helpers who take on the sacred work to be at work in these lands! I am seized, as often, by the urge to storm into the universities of Europe, screaming in a loud voice, like someone who is no longer in his right mind; especially in Paris I wanted to let everyone hear it whose knowledge is greater than the desire to make good use of it; In front of the assembled Sorbonne I wanted to call out to them: how many souls deviate from the path of salvation through their guilt, how many souls are lost through their indifference! If, with the same zeal that they devote to their studies, they would also reconsider the account that God, our Lord, will one day demand of them […] - how many of them would have to be shaken! They would take the means for their healing, they would hold spiritual exercises , these exercises, chosen to let them recognize the holy will of God in the innermost part of their souls and to understand him in its depth. And from now on they would surrender to this divine will more readily than to their own inclinations, saying: 'Lord! See, here I am. What do you want me to do? Send me wherever you want, and if it's good, even as far as India! '"

Franz Xaver at the baptism. Relief in the Church of St. Vitus in Krumau

meaning

Franz Xaver is not only the founder of the Jesuit mission, but also a pioneer of contemporary Catholic missions: for him, every missionary activity began with inculturation , i.e. getting to know and understand the foreign people, their language, religions and rites . In order to win over new Christians, it was then expedient to adapt outward forms to the customs and habits of the people. Comprehensive missionary organization, regular reports, building schools, and engaging local volunteers should be keys to successful missionary work. Later generations saw the adaptation to pagan customs as syncretism and this successful kind of proselytizing was banned.

Remembrance day

Name day of the saint is December 3rd. This Memorial Day applies to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America , the Anglican Communion, and the Roman Catholic Church .

Franz Xaver is the patron saint of India in the Roman Catholic Church, patron saint of all missionaries and missions as well as sea travelers. He is called to protect against storm and plague. His assistance is implored for a good hour of death.

In the Roman Catholic Church, holy masses in honor of St. Francis Xavier in his function as patron saint against storms are called " Xaveriamt ".

iconography

Franz Xavier is depicted in the clothing of a priest with the iconographic attributes of a cross in his hand, with a flaming heart, while preaching or baptizing - sometimes with a scallop shell - or with an Indian as an attribute. He is often dressed similarly to John of Nepomuk , the bridge saint, with a long or half-length black coat and a white choir shirt with lace and is not to be confused with this, even if he is placed on bridges.

Namesake

Franz Xaver is namesake both as a first name, in German Franz Xaver or Xaver , as well as in the naming of numerous places such as San Javier or São Francisco Xavier . The Canadian Saint Francis Xavier University was named after him, as was the Franziskus-Xaverius-Verein or numerous church buildings . Schools also bear his name.

All children from August III. (Poland) and his wife Maria Josepha of Austria (1699–1757) are nicknamed 'Franz Xaver' and 'Franziska Xaveria' respectively.

Patron saint

Franz Xavier is the patron saint of India, the missionaries, the seafarers, the Catholic press, against the storm and plague and for a good hour of death.

literature

Web links

Commons : Franz Xaver  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dorothea Lüddeckens: The World Parliament of Religions of 1893: Structures of Interreligious Encounters in the 19th Century . Berlin [u. a.]: de Gruyter, 2002. ISBN 3-11-017256-9 . P. 83
  2. ^ The letters of Francisco de Xavier. Selected, transmitted and commented by Elisabeth Countess Vitzthum: Munich 1950, p. 49 f.
personal data
SURNAME Xaver, Franz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Javier, Francisco; Jassu y Azpilcueta, Francisco de; Xavier, Francisco de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Christian missionary and co-founder of the Jesuits
DATE OF BIRTH April 7, 1506
PLACE OF BIRTH Castillo de Javier near Sangüesa, Spain
DATE OF DEATH December 3, 1552
Place of death Island Shangchuan Island in Guangzhou, China