Click for a special message from Saint Francis

Some saints travel the world to tell people about Jesus. They ride donkeys over mountains. They travel across the frozen northland in a dog sled. They sail ships across wide oceans. And everywhere they go, they say, “I have good news for you. God has raised Jesus to new life!”

We call these saints missionaries. Francis Xavier was a missionary. He was born in a castle in Spain in 1506. When he grew up, he became a Jesuit priest.

In 1541, Francis sailed to India. He wanted to show the poor people there how a Christian lives. So he slept in the rickety homes of the poor. He ate what they ate. He did this to show them that Jesus loves the poor.

Francis baptized many people in India. Then he sailed to Japan. He baptized many people there too. But when he tried to sail to China in 1552, he got sick. He died on a lonely island. Only one friend was there to hold his hand.

Francis was a great missionary. Because of him, many people came to know Jesus.