Francis was born at Xavier, in the Spanish kingdom of Navarre. He was educated in Paris and became a professor of philosophy at the College of Beauvais. At the University of Paris, he met Ignatius of Loyola, a fellow Basque, and became one of the first Jesuits, in 1534. In 1542 he was sent to India as Apostolic Nuncio to the Far East. Seven years later, after having labored ardently in the south and in Malacca, he carried the Gospel to Japan. He died in 1552, at the age of 46, while waiting for permission to enter China. He was canonized with Saint Ignatius in 1662 by Pope Gregory XV and is the Patron of Catholic Missions. (MTR) Music from SoundCloud.com. Photo by Greg Willson on Unsplash
