In February

Mission Intention

For Those Suffering from Disease
That the Lord may sustain the efforts of health workers assisting the sick and the elderly in the world’s poorest regions.

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We Remember:

February is the month when we remember the death of Fr. Caio Rastelli, the first Xaverian missionary to China, and the only priest at the time of the foundation of the Xaverians in 1895. He joined Bishop Fogolla in 1899 (declared Saint by Pope John Paul in 2000), and worked for two years in the Shanxi Province. Following the Boxer uprising, he endured many trials ministering to Christians, and finally died in 1901, at 28 years old.

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Our Founder

Saint Guido Maria Conforti

Guido M. Conforti

The earthly life journey of Guido Maria Conforti lasted only 63 years, and it was continually inspired by faith. From his first encounters with the Christ crucified at the Church of Peace in Parma, to his last visit of his missionaries in China in 1928, he displayed pastoral activity that was just short of prodigious in its extent and variety. He died a saintly death in Parma. Pope Benedict XVI declared Guido M. Conforti "Saint" in the eyes of the whole church on Oct. 23, 2001.

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Patroness of Missions

Saint Therese of Lisieux

Therese of Lisieux

The world would probably never have heard of St. Therese of Lisieux had she not been told to write down her childhood recollections, covering all her life, published after her death, The Story of a Soul. Sister Therese's "little way" of spiritual childhood, the way of trust and complete self-surrender, the way of simplicity and perfection in the doing of small things and daily duties, has become a pattern for numberless people. She died when she was twenty-four years old.

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Our Patron

Saint Francis Xavier

St. Francis Xavier

It was St. Ignatius who challenged St. Francis Xavier with the question: "What profit is it, if you gain the whole world, and lose your soul?" Since May 1542, Francis Xavier began to work among the poor of South India, Malacca, the Moluccas Islands (Indonesia), and Japan. Francis wished he could scream in the universities, that millions are waiting to hear God's Word... and he felt that no one was willing to say "Here I am, Lord. What do you want me to do?" He died in Sancian Island on Dec. 3rd, 1552.

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