A Shrine To Xavier

The church of São Roque in Lisbon was the headquarters of the Society of Jesus in Portugal and its vast overseas empire. It was from here that the Jesuit missionaries set sail for India, China, Japan and Brazil.

Here, we can find one of Europe’s most important reliquary shrines, resulting partly from Dom João de Borja’s donation (1586) and later enriched with the relics of the Jesuit missionaries martyred in the Far East.

In 1619, a cycle of 20 paintings was created for the sacristy of this church, all of them dedicated to the life of St. Francis Xavier, the Apostle of the East, and depicting various episodes that took place in India.

The saint converted many communities in India, Malaysia and Japan to Christianity. He continued to be widely worshipped in these regions and was considered an example for the young Jesuit missionaries who travelled to these places.

In 1768, the former Professed House of the Society of Jesus in Lisbon was given to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia of Lisbon, which, in 1905, founded the Museu de São Roque there. Among other exhibits, it displays works of art linked to the Jesuits’ presence in Asia.

The hexagonal structure was borrowed from architecture and its form was used to create numerous objects, such as oratories, reliquaries and amulets, that were intended to protect the owners of these pieces, their families or homes.

The meticulous decorative patterns, coupled with the use of noble materials, meant that these objects were highly valued in western culture, serving as symbols of a presence in the Far East and, therefore, as testimonies of an honourable and prosperous family past.

The double-headed eagle, with one head turned towards the West and the other towards the East, became a symbol of the encounter between these two worlds, appearing in numerous art works intended for import.

The decorative patterns based on the use of stylised animals interspersed among vegetal motifs, was a very common aesthetic feature in the Middle East and continued to be greatly appreciated in Portugal as a consequence of the country’s Islamic past.

Asian aesthetic patterns were replicated in other European arts and workshops, as, for example, in the production of tiles and faience, whose decorative motifs were copied from imported fabrics.

Goan jewellery was particularly appreciated by the Portuguese. Until the 20th century, several workshops produced artistic objects for export, gaining great fame among the Goan community.

This piece was used to cover St. Francis Xavier’s body and, after its replacement, it was offered to the governor Dom Rodrigo da Costa, who placed it inside the casket.

These small gold and crystal pendants were also placed inside the casket. They are rare examples of Goan jewellery from the early 17th century.

This amber ball was also placed inside the casket, having originally been used to perfume the coffin. After its removal, it was wrapped in Goan filigree.

This fragment of St. Francis Xavier’s little finger was removed from his body by Dona Isabel de Cron and then, in the mid-18th century, mounted in a reliquary in the shape of a lady's pocket watch.

Because of the numerous voyages that he made without ever being shipwrecked, St. Francis Xavier was also evoked as the protector of seafarers and maritime voyages, considered to be of fundamental importance in an empire based on overseas trade.

St. Francis Xavier died in 1552 before he could arrive on the Chinese mainland to begin his missionary work there. In this scene, a shepherd is pointing to the final destination that he never reached.

This veil, which was used to cover the saint’s body, was a typical contact relic that was later distributed among his worshippers.

The Museu de São Roque had two contact relics of the saint that were offered to the museum in the mid-20th century. A new contemporary reliquary was created to safeguard these relics, made of glass and silver, materials that were also to be found in the Goan tomb.

The most important event in Goa takes place every ten years, when his body is exhibited at ground level for 44 days, bringing mass pilgrimages of worshippers to Old Goa.

The saint is worshipped by Christians, but also by Muslims and Hindus who still travel to Goa today, perpetuating the sense of unity and tolerance between the various religions.

Until 1961, the feast of St. Francis Xavier brought together, in the same celebration, cardinals from the Catholic Church of the East, leaders of the civil and military authorities of the Portuguese State of India, the residents of Goa and the Indian population in general.

In Lisbon, at the church of São Roque, the casket of St. Francis Xavier is displayed every year on 3 December, in a festive celebration that attracts hundreds of people, mostly belonging to the Goan community.

A man who already had many daughters asked St. Francis Xavier for a boy. When he had another girl, he went to the Basilica of Bom Jesus and said: “Here! keep her!" and abandoned his daughter there. The next day, the news spread that a boy had been found at Bom Jesus.

When the Pope asked for St. Francis Xavier´s arm to be sent to Rome, people said: "If you are a saint, then write your name!" And the arm wrote this in such a way that the letters spread across the paper, the table and the floor.

A Portuguese lady who was kissing the saint's feet bit off one of his toes. It is said that she used it as a piece in the traditional Indian board game of carroms and that she never lost when playing with it!