St Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier was born in Spain on 7th April 1506 into a wealthy farming family. Little is known of his early life but we know he was brought up surrounded by war and his Father died when he was nine years old. Francis left Spain to go to university in Paris in 1525. He was ambitious and regarded as a fine Athlete, particularly at high jump.
Francis shared a flat with Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius was a very religious man who tried to convert Francis but Francis regarded him as a joke and was very sarcastic towards him. Ignatius finally broke down Francis’ resistance and converted him to Christianity. Following this Francis, Ignatius and three others founded a group called ‘the Society of Jesus’ (now the Jesuits) and they took the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Francis graduated with a Master’s degree in Arts and remained at the university until 1534 teaching Philosophy. Francis hoped to go to the Holy Land to convert people to Christianity, but this didn&rsqu