2023-05-17 10:20:00
May 17, 2023 / 3:20 a.m.
Pope Francis chaired, as every Wednesday, the General Audience from Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican. This May 17, he focused his catechism on San Francisco Javier, the patron saint of Catholic missions.
The Holy Father explained that, after this holy missionary, he began a “numerous group of passionate missionaries, prepared to endure immense hardships and dangers, to reach lands and meet peoples of completely unknown cultures and languages, driven only by the strong desire to give know Jesus Christ and his Gospel.
He recalled that Saint Francis Xavier spent more than three and a half years by boat, a third of the duration of his mission. It was in Goa, in India, where Javier set up his “base” although, according to the Pope, “it does not stop there.”
“He is going to evangelize the poor fishermen of the southern coast of India, teaching catechism and prayers to children, baptizing and caring for the sick.”
“For these people there were no horizons. These missionary saints were brave, even those of today.” highlighted the Holy Father.
Later, he pointed out that Saint Francis Xavier arrived in Japan, where he spent 3 “very hard” years, mainly due to “the climate, the opposition and the lack of knowledge of the language, but also here the seeds planted will bear great fruit”. “What a great dreamer, Javier”, the Pope specified.
Years later, the Spanish missionary “understood that the decisive country for the mission in Asia was another: China.”
“That is why he returns to Goa and soon after embarks again hoping to enter China, even though it is closed to foreigners. But his plan backfires: he died on the small island of Sancian, hoping in vain to land on the mainland near Canton. He dies in front of the great China, a true symbol, ”said the Holy Father.
In addition, he stressed that this saint “He never stopped praying, because he knew that the strength was there”.
“He was not an aristocratic missionary, he always went with the most needy. To the frontiers of existence, and there he grew in greatness”, affirmed the Pope.
He also explained that “the love of Christ was the force that took him to the furthest ends, with continuous fatigue and danger, overcoming failures, disappointments and discouragement, even more, giving him comfort and joy to follow him and serve him until the end”.
Finally, Pope Francis asked that “the example of Saint Francis Xavier’s apostolic zeal help us to announce and live the Gospel.”
“Many young people today have concerns and don’t know what to do. Look at Saint Francis, look at the world, the people who suffer and who need to know Jesus”. “May Jesus give us all the joy of evangelizing”, concluded the Holy Father.
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