Francis Xavier, S.J. , was a Navarrese Basque Roman Catholic missionary, who was a co-founder of the Society of Jesus. Born in Javier , Kingdom of Navarre , he was a companion of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits who took vows of poverty and chastity at Montmartre, Paris, in 1534. He led an extensive mission into Asia, mainly in the Portuguese Empire of the time and was influential in evangelization work, most notably in India. The Goa Inquisition was proposed by St. Francis Xavier. He also was the first Christian missionary to venture into Japan, Borneo, the Maluku Islands, and other areas. In those areas, struggling to learn the local languages and in the face of opposition, he had less success than he had enjoyed in India. Xavier was about to extend his missionary preaching to China when he died on Shangchuan Island. He was beatified by Pope Paul V on 25 October 1619 and canonized by Pope Gregory XV on 12 March 1622. In 1624 he was made co-patron of Navarre. Known as the Apostle of the Indies and Apostle of Japan, he is considered to be one of the greatest missionaries since Saint Paul. In 1927, Pope Pius XI published the decree Apostolicorum in Missionibus naming Saint Francis Xavier, along with Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, co-patron of all foreign missions. He is now co-patron saint of Navarre with San Fermin. The Day of Navarre in Spain marks the anniversary of Saint Francis Xavier's death, on 3 December 1552.
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