Word: xavier
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Mission Your article about St. Francis Xavier questions his importance, claiming he was a failure as an explorer and as an adventurer, but this is misleading [Dec. 13]. St. Francis Xavier was first and foremost a missionary. His primary goal was to introduce the doctrine and spread the seed of Christianity. In this aspect, he was a roaring success. He was one of the first seven members of the Jesuits, a religious order now recognized as a pillar of the Catholic Church. He never conquered states as an adventurer nor discovered new wonders as an explorer because he was never...
Telling camerawork by cinematographer Xavier Pérez Grobet (Tortilla Soup) provides another revealing contrast, with scenes in and around Walter’s apartment and at his job appearing drab and gray, while scenes in the park with Robin are filled with color. The supporting cast skillfully depicts the various attitudes of outsiders toward Walter’s sickness. And though the screenplay (written by Kassell and Steven Fechter) occasionally overreaches with a few contrived lines and overwrought symbols, it seamlessly crafts the complex, raw story and invites an audience reaction as conflicted as the emotions of the characters...
...bare facts of Xavier's life hold few clues to his continued esteem. Unlike some of his fellow missionaries in Africa or the Americas, he discovered no new wonders of the world. None of the countries he visited was converted root and branch to Christianity. He died without ever realizing his dream of reaching mainland China. And in India, Xavier is infamous as the man who introduced the Inquisition. The visible manifestation of his legacy today is mixed; St. Francis Xavier schools and churches dot his route from southern India to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan...
...religious historian Alban Goodier writes in his book Saints for Sinners: "To many of his contemporaries, he was thought a failure ... [but] probably there is no saint ... no hero in history who has more enthusiastic admirers than St. Francis Xavier." For whatever the vicissitudes and disappointments, Xavier never gave up. Father Olavo Vello Pereira, who helped organize this year's exposition, says: "To contemplate Xavier is to look at fire. That zeal and that enthusiasm, it's mesmerizing." In Japan, which he was one of the first Westerners ever to visit, Xavier's amiable manner and learned discourse is credited...
...ultimate proof of Xavier's continued appeal, however, is the pilgrims from Europe and across Asia who are swelling Goa this month. Last week, as Xavier's body was borne shoulder high from the Basilica of Bom Jesus to the Se Cathedral, where it is being displayed, two onlookers attempted conversation as they squashed and squinted for a glimpse. "Christian?" asked the young Indian woman in a bright purple sari. "Christian," confirmed the elderly South Korean man in his baseball cap, shorts and trainers. "Xavier?" inquired the woman. "Hero," smiled...