St Francis Xavier His death and after

Francis Xavier was not the first choice to travel to India. Nicholas Bobadilla, the preferred choice of Ignatius de Loyola to head to India, fell ill and Ignatius had to fall back on Xavier, who was in Rome as his secretary. Although Ignatius assigned the new task to Xavier at the last minute, he accepted it immediately and shifted from secretarial work to that of a missionary in far distant and unknown lands.

Published on:

21 Nov 2014, 6:40 pm

u The body of Francis Xavier was buried twice and shifted to at least six different locations. He died on the intervening night of December 2 to 3, 1552, at Sancian Island off China and was buried there. The body was exhumed in 1553 and was taken to Malacca, where it was buried on March 22, 1553. The body lay there till August 15, 1553. In reached Goa in March 1554 and remained in the College of St Paul till 1560 when the church was brought down and was later shifted to the sacristy of the new church. The body left the College of St Paul in 1613 and was moved to the Casa Professa (Professed House), adjoining the Basilica.

u The Relics of St Francis Xavier were kept in the left-side chapel at Bom Jesus Basilica from 1623 (one year after he was canonized) to 1660. They were shifted to their present location along the right-side of the Basilica on May 2, 1660.

u There are many pictures of St Francis Xavier and every artist produces his own vision or conception of him. Yet, there is no picture which portrays his real features in life or death. During the 150 years his body appeared life-like, not a single picture was made, while innumerable artists were painting in all the churches of the Portuguese dominions in India.

u The Expositions of the Sacred Relics of St Francis Xavier have drawn people from various places, faiths and positions. Among those who attended the 3rd Exposition (3 December 1878 to 6 January 1879) included the Nizam of Hyderabad, who arrived in a special ship.

u The first time a photo was taken of the Body of St Francis Xavier was during the 3rd Exposition (3 December 1878 to 6 January 1879).

u It is a common belief that Expositions are held every 10 years, but this decennial practice is recent and goes back to the 12th Exposition (1964-1965). The longest gap of 77 years between Expositions was during the first Exposition 1782 and the second Exposition 1859. The shortest gap of 3 years between Expositions was during the 11th Exposition (1961) and 12th Exposition (1964).

u The last time the pilgrims were allowed to touch the Sacred Relics at the 10th Exposition (1953). At the end of this exposition, it was decided that the Sacred Relics should no longer be touched by pilgrims directly. Hence, the Sacred Relics were enclosed in a crystal urn in 1955 and this practice has remained since then.