St. Francis Xavier is our parish patron. His feast day is December 3rd and he is the patron of foreign missions. St. Francis was born a Spaniard in 1506 in the City of Xavier. He attended the University of Paris. While a student, Francis met Ignatius of Loyola and along with six other men, they helped to found the Jesuit Order, of which Father Helias was a member. Francis spent his life teaching in India, Malaysia, and Japan. His dream was always to go to China. Francis Xavier's dream of serving as a missionary in china was never realized because he died in route at the age of forty-six on an island only six miles from the China coast. He is alleged to have personally baptized several hundred thousand people. Often at day's end, his arms ached from administering the sacrament. Pope Pius X, whose statue is on the right hand side of the altar, proclaimed Francis Xavier a saint and patron of all foreign missions.