Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Ho Chi Minh City (Agenzia Fides) - To give new impulse to evangelisation in Asia “Catholics must rediscover the spirit of Saint Francis Xavier” Indian Card. Telesphore Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi, said in a special Mass celebrated in the Catholic Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City to mark the closing of the 5th centenary of the birth of Saint Francis Xavier Patron Saint of the Missions. Concelebrants included Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun Bishop of Hong Kong and Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales Archbishop of Manila, Philippines
Cardinal Toppo recalled that the Jesuit saint was 35 years old when he landed in India with the mission “to carry the light of the Gospel to Asia”. “Saint Francis Xavier spent three years in India preaching Jesus Christ and then departed for even more distant lands in the Far East” said Cardinal Toppo.
“Today as Christians we see these extraordinary events in the plan and working of God. Saint Francis Xavier was a man whose heart was overflowing with love of God and he followed to he letter the command of the Risen Lord: Go out to the whole world to preach the Gospel to all nations”.
“He preached despite obstacles, following in the footsteps of Jesus - the Cardinal said - but his preaching was not a conquest. Like Jesus he spoke the language of the farmer who is patient and in harmony with his field, preparing it and then waiting for the harvest”.
The Cardinal concluded “Saint Francis Xavier dedicated his whole self, body and soul, to serving the poor and the oppressed. He overcame numerous difficulties on his journeys, in order to reveal to others the love of God. His life tells us that we can only announce God if we have a personal experience of God’s love. The Lord calls us to walk in the footsteps of Saint Francis Xavier to spread the Gospel as he did”. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 7/12/2006 righe 26 parole 269)
