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 FRANCIS

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FRANCIS

St. Francis Bokgia

By a second, contracted in 1523, he had five sons and five daughters. The eldest of all and heir to the duke- dom was Francis. Piously reared in a court which felt the influence of the two Poor Clares, the mother and sister of the reigning duke, Francis lost his own mother when he was but ten. In 1521, a sedition amongst the populace imperilled the child's life, and the position of the nobility. When the disturbance was suppressed, Francis was sent to Saragossa to continue his education at the court of his uncle, the archbishop, an ostenta- tious prelate who had never been consecrated nor even ordained priest. Although in this court the Spanish faith retained its fervour, it lapsed nevertheless into the inconsistencies permitted by the times, and Francis could not disguise from himself the relation in which his grandmother stood to the dead archbishop, al- though he was much indebted to lier for his early religious training. While at Saragossa I'Vancis cultivated mind and at- tracted the atten- tion of his relatives by his fervour. They, being desir- ous of assuring the Initune of the heir of Gandia, sent him at the age of twelve to Tordesil- las as page to the Infanta Catarina, the youngest child and companion in solitude of the unfortunate queen, Juana the Mad.

In 1525 the Infanta married King Juan III of Por- tugal, and Francis returned to Saragossa to complete his education. At last, in 152S, the court of Charles V was opened to him, and the most brilliant future awaited him. On the way to Valladolid, while passing, brilliantly escorted, through Alcald de Henares, Fran- cis encountered a poor man whom the servants of the Inquisition were leading to prison. It was Ignatius of Loyola. The young nobleman exchanged a glance of emotion with the prisoner, little dreaming that one day they should be united by the closest ties. The emperor and empress welcomed Borgia less as a sub- ject than as a kinsman. He was seventeen, endowed with every charm, accompanied by a magnificent train of followers, and, after the emperor, his presence was the most gallant and knightly at court. In 1529, at the desire of the empress, Charles V gave him in mar- riage the hand of Eleanor de Castro, at the same time making him Marquess of Lombay, master of the hounds, and equerry to the empress, and appointing Eleanor Camarera Mayor. The newly-created Mar- quess of Lombay enjoyed a privileged station. When- ever the emperor was travelling or conducting a cam- paign, he confided to the young equerry the care of the empress, and on his retiu'n to Spain treated him as a confidant and friend. In 15.35, Charles V led the expe- dition against Tunis unaccompanied by Borgia, but in the following year the favourite followed his sovereign on the unfortunate campaign in Provence. Besitles the virtues which made him the model of the court and the personal attractions which made him its ornament, the Marquess of Lombay possessed a cultivated musi- cal taste. He delighted above all in ecclesiastical com- positions, and these display a remarkable contrapuntal style and bear witness to the skill of the composer, justifying indeed the assertion that, in the sixteenth century and prior to Palestrina, Borgia was one of the cliief restorers of sacred music.

In 1538, at Toledo, an eighth child was born to the Marquess of Lombay, and on 1 May of the next year the Empress Isabella died. The equerry was conmiis- sioned to convey her remains to Granada, where they were interred on 17 May. The death of the empress caused the first break in tlie brilliant career of the Martiuess and Marchioness of Lombay. It detached them from the court and taught the nobleman the vanity of life and of its grandeurs. Blessed John of Avila preached the funeral sermon, and Francis, hav- ing made known to him his desire of reforming his life, returned to Toledo resolved to become a perfect Chris- tian. On 26 June, 1539, Charles V named Borgia Viceroy of Catalonia, and the importance of the charge tested the sterling qualities of the courtier. Precise instructions determined his course of action. He was to reform the administration of justice, put the finan- ces in order, fortify the city of Barcelona, and repress outlawry. On his arrival at the viceregal city, on 23 August, he at once proceeded, with an energy which no opposition could daunt, to build the ramparts, rid the country of the brigands who terrorized it, reform the monasteries, and develop learning. During his vice-regency he showed himself an inflexible justiciary, and above all an exemplary Christian. But a series of grievous trials were destined to develop in him the work of sanctification begun at Granada. In 1543 he became, by the death of his father, Duke of Gandia, and was named by the emperor master of the house- hold of Prince Philip of Spain, who was betrothed to the Princess of Portugal. This appointment seemed to indicate Francis as the chief minister of the future reign, but by God's permission the sovereigns of Por- tugal opposed the appointment. Francis then retired to his Duchy of Gandia, and for three years awaited the termination of the displeasure which barred him from court. He profited by this leisure to reorganize his duchy, to found a university in which he himself took the degree of Doctor of Theology, and to attain to a still higher degree of virtue. In 154G his wife died. The duke had invited the Jesuits to Ciandia and be- come their protector and disciple, and even at that time their model. But he desired still more, and on 1 February, 1548, became one of them by the pronun- ciation of the solemn vows of religion, although au- thorized by the pope to remain in the world, until he should have fulfilled his obligations towards his chil- dren and his estates — his obligations as father and as ruler.

On 31 August, 1550, the Duke of Gandia left his estates to see them no more. On 23 October he arrived at Rome, threw himself at the feet of St. Ignatius, and edified by his rare humility those especially who re- called the ancient power of the Borgias. Quick to conceive great projects, he even then urged St. Igna- tius to found the Roman College. On 4 February, 1551, he left Rome, without making known his inten- tion of departure. On 4 April, he reached Azpeitia in Guipuzcoa, and chose as his abode the hermitage of Santa Magdalena near Oiiate. Charles V having per- mitted him to relinquish his possessions, he abdicated in favour of his eldest son, was ordained priest 23 May, and at once began to deliver a series of sermons in Guipuzcoa which revived the faith of the country. Nothing was talked of throughout Spain but this change of life, and Onate became the object of incessant pilgrimage. The neophyte was obliged to tear himself from prayer in order to preach in the cities which called him, and which his burning words, his example, and even his mere appearance, stirred profoundly. In 1553 he was invited to visit Portugal. The court received him as a messenger from God and vowed to him, thenceforth, a veneration which it has always preserved. On his re- turn from this journey, Francis learned that, at the request of the emperor, Pope Julius III was willing to bestow on him the canlinalate. St. Ignatius prevailed upon the pope to reconsider this decision, but two