The Body of Saint Francis Xavier

Saint Francis Xavier died on 3 December 1552 on the island of Shangchuan off the coast of China, as he waited for a ship to take him onto the mainland. He was buried in a coffin filled with quicklime so that the flesh would decay quickly and the bones could be taken home. When the grave was opened months later, the body was found to be fresh. It was taken first to Malacca and then, in 1554, to Goa, the capital of Portuguese India, where it was received with great rejoicing.

Since 1624 it has rested in the Jesuit Basilica of Bom Jesus, “Good Jesus,” in Old Goa. The ornate tomb was the gift of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III de’ Medici, and was made in Florence by Giovanni Battista Foggini at the end of the seventeenth century. The body lies in a silver casket on top of it.

Over the centuries the body has dried and shrunk, and parts have been removed as relics. His right forearm, which baptized many thousands, was sent to the church of the Gesù in Rome in 1614.

About every ten years the casket is brought down for a solemn exposition, and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from all over India and the world come to venerate the apostle of the East. The feast of Saint Francis Xavier, 3 December, is kept in Goa as a great festival.

Where

Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa, India

When to see it

The silver casket rests high on its tomb in the basilica. The body is brought down for public veneration about every ten years; the most recent exposition began in November 2024.

Map

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Saint Francis Xavier