The Christening

On this day in 1542, Francis Xavier stepped into Old Goa for the first time and proved to have a big hand in the establishment of Christianity in India.

A painting of the priest; Source: Wikimedia Commons

Francis' friend Pierre had left their room to visit his parents. He was now alone with the 38-year-old Ignatius of Loyola, who was a weird old man wanting to convert students and such. What is that in front of Francis' dreams of advancing the world towards more innovations?

Meanwhile, Ignatius was already ready to convince Francis to convert to a priest, and he did. This change of heart in Francis led him to become the apostolic nuncio to the east. Today he arrived in Goa and would help Christianity gain a strong foothold in the Brahmin population of India.

Goa's earlier Christian population only had churches, clergy, and a bishop but no priests beyond Goa.

Ironically, his own kind, which, to be fair, consisted mainly of criminals, had turned to the Indian women and their religion. Seeing this, he began his work instructing his own Portuguese. Specifically, their children. Before this, he was instructing and preaching to the sick.

Ringing a bell in the street to call children for lessons in catechism, Francis Xavier knew that faith was to be laid in the young ones first.

His efforts resulted in him being invited to Saint Paul's College, that became the first Jesuit headquarters in Asia.

For his next round, he discovered that a tribe of people called the Paravas had been baptized around ten years ago to please the colonials who had helped them against the Moors. So, with some optimism, he proceeded to sail to the Pearl Fishery Coast, where the tribe lived.

The Brahmins were unaffected by Xavier's effort to convert them to Christianity.

For the next three years, he converted hundreds and build around 40 churches in South India and Ceylon.

The hard work required due to him being the first Jesuit to India, was immense which was not even rewarded adequately. His method of converting the poor first and then the nobles were not implemented by his successors.