Denominated the Apostle of the Indies, was born, in 1506, at the castle of Xavier, in Navarre; studied at Paris; became one of the first and most zealous disciples of Ignatius Loyola; was sent to the East by John III. of Portugal, to propagate the gospel; performed his mission in Hindoostan, the Moluccas, and Japan; and was on the point of landing in China, when he died, 1552.