The Spanish Jesuit St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) was a pioneer of Catholic missions in eastern Asia. Known as the Apostle of the East Indies, he has been acclaimed as one of the greatest missionaries in history.

Francis Xavier was born Francisco de Jasso y Xavier of a noble family of Basque stock on April 7, 1506. During his studies in Paris (1525-1536), he became involved in the small enthusiastic band that was organized by Ignatius of Loyola into the Society of Jesus. He and Ignatius were ordained priests in Venice in 1537. The following year Francis went to Rome, where he helped prepare the foundation of the Society of Jesus.

While in Rome, Xavier volunteered to fill a vacancy in a Portuguese delegation to eastern Asia. He spent from 1542 to 1549 in India, Ceylon, Malacca, and eastern Indonesia. In 1549 Japan became Xavier's mission field. While there he discovered that he had to...