ST. XAVIER: MISSIONARY METHODS, IMPACT AND ASSESSMENT OF HIS WORK
ST. XAVIER: MISSIONARY METHODS, IMPACT AND ASSESSMENT OF HIS WORK
1.
INTRODUCTION
This paper discusses on Francis
Xavier about his early life and his missionary methods. Under that will see the
establishing of school and college, friendly with political leaders and
reforming the Christian in Goa. After that see how it impacts in the life of
people, and finally finished with assessment and conclusion.
2. FRANCIS XAVIER: EARLY LIFE
St. Francis Xavier, Spanish San Francisco Xavier,
was born on 7th April 1506 in a noble Spanish family in Navarre was
related to the royal family. As he grow up, at the age of eighteen years his
father sent him to study philosophy in the University of Paris.[1] Ignatius Loyola was a soldier; he
was unfit to continue his profession because of the lost of his health in the
war. Xavier has encountered God through Loyola, who became is one of the
Spiritual guides to many. In Paris in 1534 he pronounced vows as one of the
first seven members of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, under the leadership of St. Ignatius of Loyola
and also pledged him to lived celibacy.[2]
And he died on the 2nd of December 1552.[3]
3. MISSIONARY METHODS
St.
Francis Xavier was the first man to be chosen bears a famous name in the
History of Christianity in Asia.[4] He
was a man of extraordinary personality. During the ten years of his life in the
East, he labored mostly among Asian peoples whose languages he did not know. It
was in the main through interpreters that he communicated with them.[5] He started his journey from Portugal to India
on his way from Portugal to India in April 1541, his mission method was started
when he was on the board, and he ministered in the ship and finally reached to
Goa on May 6th 1542.[6] By
the time he landed at Goa, he was already reputed as a saint.[7] And
he started to give himself in serving as poor priest in 1534.[8] There
are many things on his missionary methods but, few are mentioned in the
following points:
3.1 Establishing College
and Training Leaders
The year of his arrival to India, he started to
establish the great college of St. Paul for the training of Asian missionaries.[9]
The mission school and college which came under the government’s system of
public education soon found it as burdensome and restrictive for their original
intension in starting the educational ministry.[10]
The college in Goa it came under the management of the Society of Jesus and it
became a theological institution too.[11] At
the beginning of 1552 there were 150 students. Xavier showed great concern for
the progress of the college and its financial support. It was a challenge to
open institution to educate the people, since his first impression was unconstructive
because out there people were having an immoral life. But he has a heart for
others to get them knowledge by training them, which it helped many people for
the better future.
3.2 Friendly with the
Political Leaders
Also
he started to connect with the political leaders; he helped the Raja of
Travancore through the Portuguese governor of Goa. The Raja (Rama Varma)
announced that in Travancore that people should obey Francis Xavier as they
obey him and all those who wish to be baptized could freely do so.[12]
He showed a good example as a leader, as not only teaching and preaching but
even wins the heart of great politician which leads an easier way for mission
work.
3.3 Reforming Christian Community in Goa
There
was a place called Paravas which known as a Christian place, but they were no
different from their non Christian neighbors because they were never given
Christian instruction, no churches for fellowship. He also notices that the
children who were born after the mass movement in 1537 were not baptized so he
baptized the children. And he taught them how to pray.[13]
His method of reaching to the people was very simple. He goes to the street
ringing a bell and call out “Faithful Christians, friends of Jesus Christ, send
your sons and daughters your slaves to the holy teaching of the love of God,
and people will be surrounded by him listening. Where he also teaches the
people how to pray and trained the people in many ways. Even when he works
among the Paravas, around 1, 20,000 people were been Baptist and almost the
entire Paravas community had accepted Christianity.[14] It
was not only teach or train but also Baptist a whole community, follow with
signs of healings.[15]
Francis
commenced his missionary work. During the course of a normal day, he would be
nursing the sick, comforting the dying and administering the Sacraments of
Penance and Holy Communion. He would then visit the prisons where he often
counseled the inmates to repent for their sins of the past and change their way
of life.[16]
4. IMPACT
Xavier, as a great missionary, he has done lots of
great things, and so in the following sentence will see him how he deals and
helps people are as:
His hard and sacrificial work on the fishery
coast, Xavier succeeded in giving to the Paravas a certain pride in their
Christian faith and a great attachment to it. He brought a new religion, and
also taught the better way of life by rebuking the people like drinker, immoral
etc… He never left a field without making provision for the work begun there to
carry on.[17]
Xavier had a good command of several European
languages. In addition to his native Basque, he could speak and write Spanish,
Portuguese, French, Italian and of course Latin, the language of the Church and
of the universities. He was first one to use Tamil, and he translated catechism
into Tamil with the help of his Indian seminarians.[18]
He did not give education only to the needy but to the
poor as well, even he sponsoring them and he leads the students to the bright
future.
He gives himself to learn the languages from different
community, and produces the grammar, dictionary, also translated Bible
commentary and dictionary. It helps the people to the knowledge, especially who
do not know English, became easy read or write with understanding.
5. ASSESSMENT OF HIS WORK
His Francis Xavier’s travelling constantly to and fro
in condition of great hardship from place to place, always urged on by
indomitable faith and hope of fresh people to be won for Christ.[19]
Few harmful remarks about the missionary method of
Xavier were he baptized individuals and groups without any prior preparation.[20] He never gives effort to learn other
language, only he prepared with memorizing the sermon. Also, he used the harsh
methods with his converts and gets angry with who go back to old way after change.
His method was baptizing first then instructing. He
did not wait for the people to live an improved life and he Baptized
individuals and groups without any prior permission.[21]
One reasons for this extra ordinary hurry of his was probably due to the quick
advance Islam was making at the time in and around India.[22]
6. CONCLUSION
His
life is so challenging from the beginning, as he work tirelessly, he make
himself active and work memorizing, establishing institution, translating books
after books. It doesn’t end here he Baptist people, he prayed too and get
healed. His efforts never gone in vain therefore many people were been bless and
impact the life of people with prosperity.
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jayakumar, A.
History of Christianity in India: Major Themes. Kolkata: ESPACE, 2013.
Firth,
C.B. An Introduction to Indian Church
History. Bangalore: the Christian Literature Society, 1961.
James,
Woba. Major Issues in the History of
Christianity in India: A Post Colonial Reading. Mokokchung: TDCC Publication, 2013.
Perumalil,
H.C. and Hambye, E.R. Christianity in
India A History in Ecumenical Perspective. Bangalore:
St Paul Press Training School, 1972.
Jeyakumar,
D. Arthur. History of Christianity in
India: Selected Themes Revised and Enlarged. Edition
Chennai: Arthur Jeyakumar, 2007.
Hedlund,
Roger E. Indian Christianity: an
Alternate Reading. New Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2003.
Mundadan,
A.M. History of Christianity in India:
from the Beginning up to the Middle of the Sixteenth
Century. Bangalore: Church History Association of India.
INTERNET SOURCE
Robert L. Bireley, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Francis-Xavier
(Access 19 June 2019).
Jose Kalapura, https://dadun.unav.edu/bitstream/10171/27921/1/10_Kalapura.pdf
(Access 19 June 2019).
[1] Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India: Major Themes (Kolkata: ESPACE, 2013),
17.
[2]Robert
L. Bireley,
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Francis-Xavier
(Access 19 June 2019).
[3] C.B. Firth, an Introduction to Indian Church History
(Bangalore: the Christian Literature Society, 1961), 56.
[4]Firth, An Introduction to Indian Church History,
55.
[5]Jose
Kalapura, https://dadun.unav.edu/bitstream/10171/27921/1/10_Kalapura.pdf
(Access 19 June 2019).
[6] Jayakumar, A, History of Christianity in India: Major Themes, 18
[7] Woba James, Major Issues in the History of Christianity
in India: A Post Colonial Reading (Mokokchung: TDCC Publication, 2013), 74.
[8] Jayakumar, a History of Christianity in India: Major Themes, 17.
[9] H.C, Perumalil, and
E.R, Hambye, Christianity in India A
History in Ecumenical Perspective (Bangalore: St Paul Press Training
School, 1972), 227.
[10] Jeyakumar, History of Christianity in India, 47.
[11] D. Arthur Jeyakumar, History of Christianity in India: Selected
Themes Revised and Enlarged Edition (Chennai: Arthur Jeyakumar, 2007), 41.
[12] Roger E. Hedlund, Indian Christianity: An Alternate Reading
(New Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2003), 62.
[13] Hedlund, Indian Christianity: an Alternate Reading,
39.
[14] Jeyakumar,
History of Christianity in India, 47.
[15] A.M, Mundadan, History of Christianity in India: from the
Beginning up to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century (Bangalore: Church History
Association of India, 2001).
[17] James, Major Issues in the History of Christianity
in India, 78.
[18] James, Major Issues in the History of Christianity
in India: A Post Colonial Reading, 75.
[19] Jayakumar, a History of Christianity in India: Major Themes, 24.
[20] Jeyakumar,
History of Christianity in India: Major
Themes, 24.
[21] Firth, An Introduction to Indian Church History,
67.
[22] James, Major Issues in the History of Christianity
in India, 77.
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