Francis Xavier, SJ, venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Spanish Catholic missionary and saint who co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative of the Portuguese Empire, led the first Christian mission to Japan.
Painting of Saint Francis Xavier, held in the Kobe City Museum, Japan
The castle of the Xavier family was later acquired by the Society of Jesus.
Church of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, Paris
Conversion of the Paravars by Francis Xavier in South India, in a 19th-century coloured lithograph
The Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits, is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola and six companions, with the approval of Pope Paul III. The society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations. Jesuits work in education, research, and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also conduct retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social and humanitarian ministries, and promote ecumenical dialogue.
Ignatius of Loyola
A fresco depicting Ignatius receiving the papal bull from Pope Paul III was created after 1743 by Johann Christoph Handke in the Church of Our Lady Of the Snow in Olomouc.
Jesuits at Akbar's court in India, c. 1605
Ratio Studiorum, 1598
