The Life of St. Francis Xavier

The Early Years of Francis' Life

Everyone goes to war

 

In the spring of 1506, while Christopher Columbus lay dying at Valladolid, Francis Xavier was born in the family castle near Pamplona in Navarre, Spain. He was baptized in the Church of St. Mary. Because of their nobility and their history, the Xavier family was known all over Spain. Francis’ father, John, had graduated from the University of Bologna in Italy and served as president of the King’s council of advisers. He married Lady Maria. Thus the illustrious Xavier name was joined to that which could trace ancestors back to the emperor Charlemagne.

 

It was because of this family background that Francis could continue his education even after his First Communion. His teacher was the chaplain of the castle. During these early years, Francis was often quite late coming home from classes. When that happened, his mother would begin to worry. Soon she would be searching for him in the squares and alleys of the castle town. Usually she would find her son alone in Church, kneeling before the main altar, apparently absorbed in prayer.

 

Francis grew up under the careful supervision of his mother, whose life and faith greatly influenced him. Her teachings were supplemented by more formal classes in liberal arts, especially classical literature. When he was not studying, Francis loved to go horseback riding or to fish in the Aragon River near the castle vineyards and wheat fields.

 

When Francis reached the golden years of his youth, was broke out in Spain. As a consequence, Francis’ brothers were obliged in 1521 to fight against the forces of the King of Castille. Later, they had to defend their country’s last remaining free province against the army of Charles V.

 

The great fortress of Navarre became a refuge for orphans, refugees and the wounded. Lady Maria, whose husband had already died and whose daughter entered a convent, shouldered the responsibility of directing the works of charity necessary to help these victims of the war.

 

The war did not change Francis. He still wanted to be someone. He wanted to make a name for himself in the cultural world. When two of his brothers returned from the war, Francis was freed from responsibility for family matters. With his mother’s consent, he decided to continue his education at the most famous of all Paris universities, the Sorbonne.

 

 

Francis, the student

 

Francis left his mother and brothers in September 1525. With one servant, he set off directly for Paris. He was 19 years old. Bishop Guido Conforti, founder of the Xaverian Missionaries, described this period of Francis’ life this way: “Francis was overwhelmed by the joy and spirit of adventure implied in his search for human glory. God, however, was silently and protectively looking over Francis and perhaps reminding him that ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts and My ways are not your ways’.” This last phrase he quoted from the book of the prophets Isaiah.

 

When Francis finally arrived, he wasn’t thinking of how tired he was. The road he had traveled had been constructed by the Romans more than a thousand years before. He passed by battlefields made famous by the ‘Song of Roland’, the literary masterpiece he had memorized as a child. He passed through Orleans and saw the famous statue of Joan of Arc, symbol and reminder that all life is a struggle for freedom that will allow us to become saints. From Orleans, he traveled a stone-paved road favored by the military which brought him to Paris, and the end of his three-week journey. Now he continued feverishly to search in his mind for a way to become very famous.

 

Students of the Sorbonne, numbering in the thousands, came from every nation in Europe. Together these students constituted the “privileged”.

 

Francis spent that first year reviewing studies he had already completed. He began philosophy in October of the following year. Although he never returned home, he did write his mother frequently. He spent money freely, enjoying the finer things in life to the fullest.

 

At home, Lady Maria worried about Francis. The servant wrote, “…all around Francis is bad example and invitation to sin. Moreover, the students are spoiled and at times vicious. Francis is no better than the others.” Francis’ mother prayed daily for her son, aware that God never turns a deaf ear to a mother’s prayer.

 

He worries were communicated to her daughter, Sister Magdalena. She immediately begged all her Sisters to pray for her brother. They petitioned St. Clare to protect him. All these prayers were to be answered in no less than a spectacular way, as is often the case.

 

With the opening of a new school year, Francis shared an apartment with Peter Faber, a poor man and an exemplary Catholic. His presence became a heavenly light for Francis who was then traveling down darkened paths.

 

Peter Faber seemed to know exactly how to influence Francis for the good. It seems that Francis was particularly impressed by the following annotation Peter wrote in his textbook of logic: “Virtue alone endures. Time dissipates and scatters riches, power and fame. How quickly the young lose their youth.”

 

 

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