Rome (AsiaNews) – One of the greatest missionaries of all time, he is patron of missionaries. He evangelized India, Japan, the Moluccas islands and the Malacca peninsula. He had contacts with the Philippines and wanted to go as far as China, but he died on the night of 2 December 1552 on the island of Sanchiang at the outfall of the Pearl River, a few km from Canton. The man is St Francis Xavier, the Jesuit missionary born in Navarre (today Spain) in 1506.

To mark the 500th anniversary of his birth, the General of the Society, Fr Peter Hans Kolvenbach launched a jubilee celebration which starts today and will continue throughout 2006. The jubilee is getting under way with two pilgrimages: one to Navarre, the birthplace of Francis Xavier and the other to Goa in India, the city where the saint's remains are conserved.

A novena of preparation was held in Goa this year, centred on the family. The theme was ""Family illuminated and fortified by the Eucharist, sent to build a new society".

Pilgrimages and celebrations are under way in Jalan Banda Kaba (Malacca) too, with thousands of believers going there from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. From 1 to 4 December, the relics of the saint will be exposed. Although the body of Francis Xavier is in Goa, some of his relics are conserved, apart from Goa, in Roma and Macao.

Anniversary events are under way also in the Philippines and Japan.