Mind-Benders of Christian History
From a Navarrese castle to an island off China
Born in the Kingdom of Navarre, Francis Xavier sailed east from Lisbon in 1541 and spent his next eleven years as a missionary along the coasts of Portuguese India, in the Spice Islands, and in Japan, which he reached in 1549. He died in 1552 on an island off the south China coast while trying to enter the mainland, having crossed tens of thousands of sea miles.
How we know
Francis Xavier 1506–1552; sailed from Lisbon 1541, reached Japan (Kagoshima) 1549, died on Shangchuan Island off Guangdong, China, in December 1552.
One of many fact-checked wonders across eight traditions at The Spring of Wisdom.