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Francis, Saint Franck THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG 384
In 1602, on the death of the bishop of Geneva, Francis succeeded to the see, of which he had for some time been coadjutor. In the performance of the duties of his office he lived up to the very highest standard of pastoral obligation. His fame
as a preacher caused him to be sumBishop moned repeatedly to France, where of Geneva. he enjoyed great influence. With the aid of Madame de Chantal he founded in 1604 the order of the Visitation (see VISITATION, ORDER OF THE) devoted to the care of the sick and later also to the education of the young.
In 1618 Francis composed his Introduction d In vie devote, one of the most popular books among Roman Catholics to the present day, the object of which, as he explained in his preface, was to meet the pious needs of those whose calling lay in the spheres of active life. The book is in the form of a discourse addressed to a certain Philothea, and treats in five chapters of repentance, prayer, the various virtues, temptations, and pious practises.
"The world," he says, "often looks His with contempt upon piety because it Works and pictures the pious as men of downcast
Doctrine. and sorrowful faces, but Christ him self testifies that the inner life is a soft, sweet, and happy one." In his indulgence to the demands made by the, world he often goes to extremes. His views find their systematic ex pression in his Traite de l'amour de Dieu. Pro ceeding from the principle that the will, ap pointed by the Lord as ruler of all the powers of the soul, finds its highest expression in the love of God, he finds two principal manifestations of this love, one passive, revealing itself in attrac tion toward the divine, and one active, finding expression in the performance of the will of God. The first consists primarily in prayer, by which is understood not merely verbal utterance of devo tion but the inner approach of the soul toward God. The inner form of prayer is of two degrees, the lower, meditation, the higher, contemplation. Its highest degree is the total absorption of the soul into its God, ecstasy. In Francis we find an undisguised exposition of the doctrines of Quietism. AS a counterpoise to the evil consequences that might possibly follow on the extreme interpreta tion of his mystic doctrine, Francis sets up the act ive love of God, which consists in the fulfilment of the divine will. In three books he gives a de tailed account of the various virtues in which this active love manifests itself, a love which in Francis himself revealed itself throughout his life. He was canonized in 1665, and in 1878 was declared a doctor of the universal Church. (J. EHNI fi.) BIBLIOGRAPHY: The tEuvres of St. Francis appeared 16 vols., Paris, 1821; 8 vols., Lyons, 1868; ed. H. B. Mackey, An necy,1890-97; also an ed., Paris, 1908; lEuvres choisies, ed. M. Pag6s, 3 vols., Paris, 1890; Selection from Spiritual Letters, by H. L. S. Lear, London, 1892 ; a selection in Fr. by F. Pracht, Paris, 1893. Several of his works are constantly reproduced in English, e. g., Practical Piety, London, 1851; Spiritual Letters (or selections from them), ib., 1871; Spiritual Conferences, ib., 1862; Introduction to a Devout Life, Oxford, 1875. For his life or phases of it consult: Baroness Herbert of Lea, Mission o/ St Francis in the Chablais, London, 1868; J. P. Camus, Tke Spirit of Francis of Salsa, ib., 1880; A. Peratd, La Mission de Franyois de Sales dams le Chablais, Rome, 1886: G. Porter, The Heart of St. Francis, London, 1887; J. F. Gouthier, La Mission de S. Franfois de Sales daps . .Chablais, Annecy, 1891; H. B. Mackey, St. Francis de Sales as a Preacher, London, 1898; F. Strowski, S. Franr,ois de Sales, Paris, 1898; A. Delplanque, S. Francois de Sales, humanists et ecrivain latin, Lille, 1908; Marsollier, Vie de S. Franois de Sales, Tours, 1908; R. Ornsby, Life of St. Francis de Sales, London, GA.; KL, iv. 1826-36.
FRANCIS XAVIER, SAINT: The founder and pioneer of modern Roman Catholic missions to the heathen; b. at the castle of Xavier, near Pamplona (195 m. n.n.e. of Madrid), in Navarre, Apr. 7, 1506; d. on the island of San-than (Chang-Chuang, St. John's Island, on the south coast of China, 125 m. s. of Canton) Dec. 2, 1552. He sprang from an aristocratic family of Navarre. While preparing himself for the higher spiritual career at the University of Paris, he became acquainted with Ignatius Loyola, soon stood completely under his influence, and was one of those who on Aug. 15, 1534, bound themselves by a vow at Montmartre and formed the nucleus of the subsequent Society of Jesus (see IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA). The field of labor falling to Francis Xavier was that of missions to the heathen. As King John III. of Portugal desired Jesuit missionaries for the East Indies, he was ordered thither, leaving Lisbon on Apr. 7, 1541; from August of that year till Mar. 1542, he remained in Mozambique, and reached Goa, the capital of the Portuguese colonies, on May 6. His first missionary activity was among the Paravas, pearl-fishers along the southerly portion of the east coast of Hindustan. He then exerted himself to win the king of Travancore to Christianity, on the west coast, and also visited Ceylon. Dissatisfied with the results of his activity, he turned eastward in 1545, and planned a missionary journey to Macassar, on the island of Celebes. Having arrived in Malacca in October of that year and waited there three months in vain for a ship to Macassar, he gave up the goal of his voyage, and went to Amboyna and other of the Molucca Islands, returning to India in Jan., 1548. The next fifteen months were occupied with various journeys and administrative measures in India. Then his displeasure by reason of the unchristian life and manners of the Portuguese, whereby his proselyting work was seriously impeded, drove him forth once again into the unknown Far East. He left Goa on Apr. 15, 1549, stopped at Malacca, visited Canton, and on Aug. 15 reached Japan, where he landed at Kagoshima, the principal port of the province of Satsuma, on the island of Kiushiu. He was received in friendly manner and was permitted to preach, but, not knowing the native language, had to limit himself to reading aloud the translation of a catechism. For all this, his sojourn was not without fruits, as is attested by congregations established in Hiudo, Samaguchi, and Bungo (see JAPAN, III., 1, § 1). After more than two years in Japan, he returned to India, and was back in Goa by Jan., 1552. In April he was again under way, aiming for China, but died on the journey.
Francis Xavier accomplished a great missionary work both as organizer and as pioneer. By his compromise' in India with the Christians of St. Thomas lie developed the Jesuit missionary methods