At length he lost his speech, and recovered not the use of it till three days afterwards:  his strength then left him all at once, so that it was expected every moment that he would pass away; which notwithstanding, he once more recovered, and having the free exercise both of his reason and his speech, he renewed his entertainments with his Saviour in an audible manner.  Nothing was to be heard from him but devout aspirations, and short ejaculations of prayer, but those full of life and of affection.  The assistants understood not all he said, because he continually spoke in Latin; and Antonio de Sainte Foy, who never left him, has only reported, that the man of God made frequent repetition of these words, Jesu, fili David, miserere mei! and these also, which were so familiar to him, sanctissima Trinitas!  Besides which, invoking the blessed Virgin, he would say, Monstra te esse Matrem! He passed two days without taking any food; and having ordered his priestly habits, and the other church-stuff which he used in saying mass, to be carried aboard the ship, together with those books which he had composed for the instruction of the Eastern people, he disposed himself for his last hour, which was near approaching.

Besides Antonio de Sainte Foy, he had near his person a young Indian, whom he had brought with him from Goa.  The saint, dying as he was, cast his eyes on the young man, and appeared discomposed in looking on him; afterwards, with a compassionate regard, he twice pronounced these words, “Ah miserable man!” and afterwards shed tears.  God, at that moment, was pleased to reveal to Xavier, the unhappy death of this young Indian, who, five or six months afterwards, falling into most horrible debauches, was killed on the place by the shot of an arquebuse.  So that the spirit of prophecy accompanied the holy man, even to his last breath.

At last, on the 2d of December, which fell on Friday, having his eyes all bathed in tears, and fixed with great tenderness of soul upon his crucifix, he pronounced these words, In te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in aeternum; and at the same instant, transported with celestial joy, which appeared upon his countenance, he sweetly gave up the ghost, towards two of the clock in the afternoon, and in the year of God 1552.

He was six-and-forty years of age, and had passed ten-and-a-half of them in the Indies.  His stature was somewhat above the middle size; his constitution strong; his air had a mixture of pleasingness and majesty; he was fresh-coloured, had a large forehead, a well-proportioned nose; his eyes were blue, but piercing and lively; his hair and beard of a dark chesnut; his continual labours had made him gray betimes; and in the last year of his life, he was grizzled almost to whiteness.  This without question gave occasion to his first historians to make him five-and-fifty years old, before the certain proofs of his age came at length to be discovered.