3 December 2024
Goa Regional holiday | Tuesday |
The Feast of St. Francis Xavier is on 3rd of December every year. It is a regional festival in the northern Spanish community of Navarra and the Indian state of Goa. The feast day celebrates a Roman Catholic missionary who was key in the establishment of Christianity in India, the Malay Archipelago, and Japan. Francis was born in Xavier in the Kingdom of Navarre on April 7th 1506. He was born into a rich family, whose fortunes were severely damaged during the war with Aragon. Francis went to study in Paris.ere he met Ignatius of Loyola, who convinced Francis to follow a religious life and become a priest. Francis was reluctant at first, leading Ignatius to ask the now-famous question: "What will it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
Along with Ignatius, Francis became one of the founders of the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits. They made private vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to the Pope. They also vowed to go to the Holy Land to convert "infidels."
Francis left Rome for the Indies in March 1540. His future as arguably the greatest Christian missionary since St. Paul began almost by accident. He wasnt originally chosen to be a missionary, but one of the two originally selected by Ignatius fell ill, so Ignatius asked Francis to go as a replacement. Over the next 12 years, Francis led a series of overseas missions, mainly in the Portuguese Empire of the time - Mozambique, Malacca and notably Goa. He was the first Christian missionary to travel Japan and on to Borneo and the Moluccan Islands. For his evangelist work, he became known as the "Apostle of the Indies". This festival is for the Christain community to pay their respects on the death anniversary of St. Francis Xavier.