Public Veneration Of St. Francis Xavier

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30269, 23 October 1963, Page 10

Public Veneration Of St. Francis Xavier

(Bu « Reuter Correspondent)

PANJIM. (GOA). The body of St. Francis Xavier, remarkably preserved more than four centuries after his death, will be exposed to public veneration in December 1964.

The body is shrunken and darkened with age. but it is still intact. It will lie in State, encased in a crystal coffin at the Church of Bom Jesus in the centuries-old town of Old Goa. Hundreds of thousands of Christian pilgrims are expected to flock to Panjim to pray at the feet of the noted Roman Catholic Saint who blazed a trail of compassion and service for the poor during bis travels through Asia in the first half of the Sixteenth Century. The last exposition was held in December 1952 when Papal representatives and other high Church dignitaries participated in the observance of the fourth centenary at St. Francis' death. Crystal Coffin

The body of St, Francis Xavier has been lying in the crystal coffin ever since it was brought to Goa from Malacca on March 15. 1554, two years after his death. St. Francis first arrived in India in May. 1542. His Life of poverty and devotion to the Church had attracted the attention of Pope Paul 111 and King John in of Portugal. He was sent by the Portuguese monarch to work for the welfare of the people of the East. St. Francis wandered over the area, visiting Ceylon, Jaipan, Malacca. Bassein and Moluccas between 1542 and 1552 A.D.

He wanted to visit the Chinese mainland—but died on the island of Shang Chuan (Sancian) off the south coast

of' China near Canton, on December 2. 1552 while still waiting to enter China. His body was brought to Old Goa two years later. He was canonised in 1622. Miracles Claimed

The body lacks the right arm. It was severed in 1614 and taken to Rome to the Pope who wanted proof of the reported saintliness of Francis Xavier.

The arm was then reported to have taken quill and signed the name “Francis Xavier’’ before the eyes of the Pontiff. It was later given to the custody of Jesuits in the Church of Del Gesu, Rome.

A toe from the right foot of the Saint’s body is also missing. It was reported to have been bitten off by a noble woman. Dona Isabel de Garons in 1554 as a keepsake.

However. according to legend, the body started bleeding profusely from the wound left by the bitten toe, although it had been lifeless for more than two years. The bleeding stopped only after the toe was returned. The toe is also housed in the same cathedral as the Saint's body. During the last exposition in 1952, the body was exposed and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims -who filed past it were able to kiss or touch the feet. The Church authorities organising the exposition had then announced that the body was being exposed to the pilgrim's worshipful touch for the last time. Next year, the crystal coffin is unlikely to be unlocked.

Experiments in crossing circus horses with the famous Lipizzan breed are being carried out at the Csipkeskut stud farm in Hungary.— I Reuter.