Saint Francis Xavier Church

Introduction:

Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), a Spanish Jesuit missionary was called the Apostle of the Indies. Born near Pamplona, on April 7, 1506, Xavier was educated at the University of Paris.

In 1542 Xavier began his work in Portuguese India. After preaching with great success in Goa for five months, he extended his labors to southern India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka), where he converted tens of thousands of locals. He then led missionary work in Malacca, where he founded many Christian communities, in Japan, where he also succeeded and left behind a vigorous Christian community. In 1552 he returned to Goa with a plan to introduce Christianity into China.

To gain entrance to that country, which was then closed to foreigners, he persuaded the Portuguese authorities to send an embassy, of which he would be a member, to the Chinese emperor. The embassy departed from Goa in the spring of 1552; it went no farther than Malacca, but Xavier continued the journey alone, arriving at a small island near Macau in August 1552. He died there December 3, 1522, after repeated vain attempts to reach the mainland. He was buried on a beach of Shangchuan Island.

How to reach:

By Air
The Goa international airport is located at Dabolim, which is at a distance of 29 km away from Panaji. The airport connects the domestic cities as well as international cities in U.K. and Germany. Goa to Mumbai and Goa to Delhi flights are making daily services from Goa.

By Train
The major railway stations in Goa are Margao and Vasco-da-gama. These stations are in the Konkan railway line and are well connected to Mumbai.