ABSTRACT
XAVIER, FRANCIS (1506-1552). Jesuit missionary. Born of a noble family in Navarre, Francis studied at the University of Paris, where Ignatius of Loyola (q.v.) was his roommate. Converted by Ignatius, Francis began to study theology and then joined Ignatius and the other “companions” in Italy. In 1542 he set out for India, where he stayed for three years. A second journey came in 1547. In 1549 he went to Japan. Three years later he sought to enter China but died before he had succeeded, on an island off the China coast. At these places Francis batpized thousands of converts. Francis was canonized in 1622. (See also SOCIETY OF JESUS).
