Priest · Feast day December 3
St. Francis Xavier
The feast day of St. Francis Xavier is December 3, a memorial in the US Catholic calendar. Traditionally invoked as patron of missions and navigators. Below: a short life and 2 sourced quotations in their own words.
| Feast day | December 3 |
|---|---|
| In the US calendar | Memorial |
| Title | Priest |
| Died | 1552 |
| Patron of | missions, navigators |
| In their own words | 2 sourced quotations |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | None left in the published calendar (through December 31, 2028) |
Life
Ignatius’s Paris roommate, won over one argument at a time by the Gospel’s question: what good is the whole world to a man who loses his soul? He sailed east and never stopped: India, the Spice Islands, Japan.
He baptized tens of thousands, learned languages by ear, and slept in a shirt of sailcloth. He died at forty-six on an island in sight of the China he could not enter. He is patron of missions.
Patron of
Tradition invokes St. Francis Xavier as patron of missions and navigators.
Saints with the same patronage
- St. Thérèse of Lisieuxmissions · October 1
Patronages are traditional, not an official list. All patron saints in Bless, A to Z.
In their own words
Each quotation names the work it comes from. Bless quotes these in the comments beside the verses listed under In Scripture.
Many, many people hereabouts are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is nobody to make them Christians.
I have not stopped since the day I arrived. I conscientiously made the rounds of the villages. I bathed in the sacred waters all the children who had not yet been baptized.
In Scripture
In Bless, St. Francis Xavier’s words appear in the comments beside these verses. This page’s labels say how each is linked: “on this verse” means the saint wrote about that very verse; “on this theme” means the quotation shares its theme. Scripture is quoted from the Catholic Public Domain Version.
On this theme
Then he said to his disciples: “The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few.
Matthew 9:37 · CPDV Beside their words: “Many, many people hereabouts are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is…”
On this theme
Therefore, go forth and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Matthew 28:19 · CPDV Beside their words: “I have not stopped since the day I arrived. I conscientiously made the rounds of the…”
On this theme
And he ordered the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch descended into the water. And he baptized him.
Acts 8:38 · CPDV Beside their words: “I have not stopped since the day I arrived. I conscientiously made the rounds of the…”
On this theme
Then in what way will those who have not believed in him call upon him? Or in what way will those who have not heard of him believe in him? And in what way will they hear of him without preaching?
Romans 10:14 · CPDV Beside their words: “Many, many people hereabouts are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is…”
In the calendar
The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Francis Xavier. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.
Readings
No dates are left in Bless’s published calendar, which runs through December 31, 2028. St. Francis Xavier keeps December 3 in Bless’s calendar of saints: see the saints of December.
All the saints of December Born on December 3? A saint for every day
Spotted a mistake in a date, a patronage or a quotation? Report an error and we’ll fix it in the app and here.