Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/286

 FRANCK

234

FRANCK

that St. Francis Xavicr ever landed in the Phihp- pines.

By July, 1547, he was again in Malacca. Here he met a Japanese called Anger (Han-Sir), from whom he obtained much information about Japan. Hi.s zeal was at once aroused by the idea of introducing Chris- tianity into Japan, but for the time being the affairs of the Society demanded his presence at Goa, whither he went, taking Anger with him. During the si.x years that Xavier had been working among the infidels, other Jesuit missionaries had arrived at Goa, sent from Europe by St. Ignatius; moreover some who had been born in the country had been received into the Society. In 1548 Xavier sent these missionaries to the principal centres of India, where he had established missions, so that the work might be preserved and continued. He also established a novitiate and house of studies, and having received into the Society Father Cosme de Torres, a Spanish priest whom he had met in the Moluccas, he started with him and Brother Juan Fernandez for Japan towards the end of June, 1549. The Japanese Anger, who had been baptized at Goa and given the name of Pablo de Santa Fc, accom- panied them.

They landed at the city of Kagoshima in Japan, 15 Aug., i549. Thejentire first year was devoted to learn- ing the Japanese language and translating into Japa- nese, with the help of Pablo de Santa Fe, the principal articles of faith and short treatises which were to be employed in preaching and catechizing. When he was able to express himself, Xavier began preaching and made some converts, but these aroused the ill will of the bonzes, who had him banished from the city. Leaving Kagnshima about August, 1550, he pene- trated to the rcnlrt> of Japan, and preached the Gcspel in some of the cities of southern Japan. Towards the end of that year he reached Meaco, then the principal city of Japan, but he was unable to make any headway here becau.se of the dissensions then rending the coun- try. He retraced his steps to the centre of Japan, and during 1551 preached in some important cities, form- ing the nucleus of several Christian communities, which in time increased with extraordinary rapidity.

After working about two years and a half in Japan he left this mission in charge of Father Cosme de Torres and Brother Juan Fernandez, and returned to Goa, arriving there at the beginning of 1552. Here domestic troubles awaited him. Certain disagree- ments between the superior, who had been left in charge of the missions, and the rector of the college, had to be adjusted. This, however, being arranged, Xavier turned his thoughts to China, and began to plan an expedition there. During his stay in Japan he had heard much of the Celestial Empire, and though he probably had not formed a proper estimate of its extent and greatness, he nevertheless understood how wide a field it afforded for the spread of the light of the Gospel. With the help of friends he arranged a com- mission or embassy to the Sovereign of China, ob- tained from the Viceroy of India the appointment of ambassador, and in April, 1552, he left Goa. At Malacca the party encountered difficulties because the influential Portuguese disapproved of the expedition, but Xavier knew how to overcome this opposition, and in the autumn he arrived in a Portuguese vessel at the small island of Sancian near the coast of China. While planning the best means for reaching the mainland, he was taken iU, and as the movement of the vessel seemed to aggravate his condition, he was removed to the land, where a rude hut had been built to shelter him. In these wretched surroundings he breathed his last.

It is truly a matter of wonder that one man in the short space Of ten years Hi May, 1542—2 Dec, 1.552) could have visited so many countries, traversed .so many seas, preached the Gospel to so many nations, and converted so many infidels. The incomparable

apostoUc zeal which animated him, and the stupend- ous miracles which God wrought through him, explain this marvel, which has no equal elsewhere. The list of the principal miracles may be found in the Bull of canonization. St. Francis Xavier is considered the greatest missionary since the time of the Apostles, and the zeal he displayed, the wonderful miracles he per- formed, and the great number of souls he brought to the Ught of the true Faith, entitle him to this distinc- tion. He was canonized with St. Ignatius in 1622, although on account of the death of Gregory XV, the Bull of canonization was not published until the fol- lowing year.

The body of the saint is stiU enshrined at Goa in the church which formerly belonged to the Society. In 1614 by order of Claudius Acquaviva, General of the Society of Jesus, the right arm was severed at the elbow and conveyed to Rome, where the present altar was erected to receive it in the church of the Gesii.

Mnuumi7iti Xaveriana ex autographis vd ex antiquioribus c.rcmplix rollccta (Madrid, 1S99-1900), a collection of all the letters of the sniiit and his earliest biography, by Valignano, hitherto unpublished; Polanco, Vita Ignatii Loiola et rerum Societatis Jesu historia (Madrid, 1894); Cbos, SaiTtl Frantois-Xavier de !a Compagnie de Jesus (Toulouse, 1894); AstrAin, Historic de la CompaAla de Jesus en la Asistencia de EspaHa (Madrid, 1902); CoLEBlDGE, The Life and Letters oj St. Franeis Xavier (London, 1902).

Antonio AstrXin.

Franck, Kaspar, theologian and controversialist; b. at Ortrand, Saxony, 2 Nov., 1.543; d. at Ingolstadt, 12 ^Iarch, 15S4. His parents were Lutherans and his early religious instruction filled him with enthusi- asm for the new doctrine. His earnest desire for the conversion of his country led him to choose the min- istry as his field of labour, and such was his zeal and success as a preacher that Count Ladislaus of Haag, who had but recently introduced the reformed faith into his province, invited him to his court. The pre- mature death, however, of Ladislaus prevented Franck from carrying out the proposed plans of reform. Duke Albert, the successor of Ladislaus, resolved to restore the Catholic reUgion, and to that end called to his assistance the famous convert and preacher, Martin Eisengrein. His intercoiu'se with Eisengrein soon led Franck to see the errors of the new creed. In 1566, he matriculated at the Univi'rsity of Ingolstadt, devoted himself to the study of the Fathers and the early Christian Church, and on 25 Jan., 1568, made a formal profession of the Cathohc Faith. Albert, recognizing him as a man of great usefulness in reclaiming to the Faith many strayed souls, obtained from Pius V a dispensation to have him ordained a priest. Before beginning his missionary labours, he published a work setting forth the reasons and justification of his return to the ancient faith; "Klare vnd Gri'mdtliche vrsa- chcn Warunib M. Caspar Franck Von der Sect, zu der allgciiiainen ( 'hristliclicn vnd Romischen Kirchen getreten" (Ingolstadt, 1568); the same in Latin, "Di- lucida e.xpositio justissimarum causarum", etc. His apostolic labours in Haag and Krailburg were crowned with success. In 1572, he was again in the University of Ingolstadt, pm-suing his theological studies, and the following year hi' was appointed its rector, which office he again hcki later for several consecutive terms. On the occasion of the General Jubilee in 1575, he set out for Rome, won at Siena the doctorate in theology, and shortly afterwards Gregory XIII conferred on him the title of Prothonotary Apostolic and Comes Lateranen- sis. His vast erudition, zeal, and power of penetration place him on the long list of learned men who directed the destiny of the University of Ingolstadt <liu-ing the sixteenth century. His iMileiiiical writings ni.'inifest e.arnest .and painstaking labour and an intiiuale tamil- iaiity with i)atri.stic literature. Among his more im- porlJiiil works may be mentioned: "Brevis et Pia Institutio de puro verbo Dei ct clara S. Evangelii luce" (Ingolstadt, 1571); "Tractatus de ordmana,