Man on Mission: Life of St. Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier is man on mission. He is complex individual with sharply contrasting traits of character. He could spend hours together on the beach praying alone in the stillness of the night and he also moved restlessly from place to place.
He shed tears of devotion at Mass and was raised above the ground. He also advocated the introduction of the infamous inquisition in India as a remedy against the loose morals of the Portuguese. He was deeply attached to some of his companions and also was harsh to others.
He went about in the Fishery Coast in a patched, tattered cassock and in Japan he dressed up in silk and satin. He loved passionately the Society of Jesus and at the same time he advocated placing it under the control of civil authorities.
Francis Xavier was an extremely rich personality, but very human saint who retained some of the features of his Basque character till the very end. The appreciation of the saint should be based on the totality of his person with lights and shadows of his prodigious personality.