Commemorating the Life of Saint Francis Xavier

During the Solemn Pontifical Mass for the Metro Xavier Fiesta, Most Rev. Angelito Lampon, the Archbishop of Cotabato, began his homily by thanking the St. Francis Xavier Seminary community for inviting him to be the presider for the mass. He praised the XACOSE Chapel for its architectural beauty and then formally expressed the event’s theme which is “San Francisco Javier: Modelo sa Pagtoo ug Dialogo” [St. Francis Xavier: the Model of Faith and Dialogue] that aims to commemorate the great and meaningful life of this great missionary.

Archbishop Lampon emphasized the importance of interreligious dialogue and brought to light the great contribution of St. Francis Xavier towards bridging nations of different faith and culture through the word of God. “Saint Francis Xavier has deep intimacy with God and Jesus,” the Bishop said, introducing the missionary. “Francis was truly and intimately connected with the Lord’s spirit. He has deep faith that became one of the factors why he was so motivated to go to the missions that made him a foreign patron missionary,” he added. He stated that Saint Francis traveled for 13 months from Portugal all the way to India to share the Good News to the gentiles.

The Archbishop also stated that sometimes, God uses testings to motivate us to do the works of sharing the Good News just like how he used Saint Francis. If Saint Francis and the disciples did not believe that God is real in their hearts, and if they did not face trials, and if they did not experience the Lord personally, the Archbishop doesn’t think there’s any motivation that will be strong enough to push them in making those sacrifices so that God’s word would penetrate the nations.

Most Rev. Angelito Lampon also mentioned that Saint Francis Xavier has traveled to India a lot of times and while he was there he was able to convert many of the Hindus to Christianity and records say that 30 to 40 thousand were baptized then. Saint Francis Xavier died on December 3, 1552 due to fever.

“San Francisco Javier is one of the best models when it comes to dialogue – he has gone to Japan, Indonesia, and India through his own ways and in his own language and with the help of God, he has mastered the art of dialogue. The spiritual freedom is indeed the realistic gauge of a true spiritual maturity,” the Archbishop ended. (Robert Ramirez, Sheila Mae Sumagang, and Julie Mae Taguno)