Presentation by Father Larry Pederson to the parishioners of St. Francis Xavier Parish on the Feast Day of St. Francis Xavier, December 3 rd, 2016. St. Francis Xavier was born in 1506 in Spain. In the name and mission of Jesus Christ he labored most successfully in this great ministry. He was named by Pope Pius X as the official patron of the foreign missions and all the works for spreading the faith. (Our church bell was made and blessed in 1912 during the time when Pope Pius X was Pope his name and papal insignia is on our 2000 pound bronze bell which will be part of the entrance to the new St. Francis Xavier Parish Centre). He was one of the greatest of all missionaries. He brought the coming of Christ to the hearts of those who did not know Him and those whom His Gospel had not yet reached. Today our parish celebrates its Mission Day. May our desire parallel that of St. Francis Xavier, so that the Word of God is able to find its way into every human heart. Let this be a part of our parish mission. He was one of the founders of the Jesuit Order. He was born in the Basque Castle of Xavier, not far from Pamplona, Spain and his missionary journeys took him to India, many of the eastward islands, to Japan and off the coast of China. He spent two and a half years in Japan, baptizing over 700 people. The Japanese people he baptized survived on their own, without clergy, for over 200 years and with persecutions, drove their faith underground. This is certainly a testament to the fact that the Holy Spirit was with him in his great zeal for the faith and continued his ministry when he left Japan. In 1552 he returned to Goa in India and began to plan his evangelization of China. He died off the coast of China with his dream, vision and desire to evangelize China, not realized. Pope Francis said in a homily addressed to St. Francis Xavier s Jesuit brothers 3 years ago: It is always pleasant for me to think of the sunset of the Jesuit, when a Jesuit finishes his life, when the sun goes down A classical sunset is St. Francis Xavier looking at China This end of Xavier has been painted many times, even in literature in a deep description of peace (I added like the peace on the face of the dying Jesus on our processional cross which design comes from a Croatian tradition to depict the dying Jesus at peace with his Father s will). Pope Francis continues: At the end, having nothing, but IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD! (I added here the words of Pope John XXIII: It is the true spirit of the Jesuit in the end, to lose all and see only Jesus all centered on Jesus ). Pope Francis continues: It does me good to think about this Let us ask for the grace that our sunset will be like this. St. Francis Xavier died on December 3 rd 1552 whose anniversary of death we celebrate today. He was 46 years of age. In only 10 years of evangelization, energized by boundless zeal to spread the faith, he visited over 10 countries spread over 10 modern time zones, adapting his preaching to widely dissimilar cultures and baptized over 40,000 people.
Our new St. Francis Xavier Parish Centre will express some of his Christ and Gospel centered life. The Baptismal Font will remind us most profoundly of him. It is an immersion font underneath the steeple of the church. The steeple is 210 feet above the lower building. The cross above the steeple is 24 feet high. The cross will be lit at night. The steeple has 6 stained glass windows on its north and south sides and two stained glass windows on its east and west sides. These stained glass windows on the steeple will be lit from the inside at night to show their color to the outside. This and the lit cross will be a beacon of light and a testimony of our faith to the people of Camrose. It is probably one of the highest, if not the highest, buildings in Camrose. The cross will be a reminder of the cross Jesus carried to bring us new life and also the cross of St. Francis Xavier always carried in his hand. The Baptismal Font is below the steeple and is located at the entry to the nave of the church. The granite we hope to use for the Baptismal Font is from Madagascar. This ocean route was part of St. Francis Xavier s missionary journeys. The granite is called Lemurian. It has a black like background with large flashes of crystal blue and gold. Another fascinating part is that the boulder of rock from Madagascar will be shipped to India where it will be cut and polished. India was a major part of St. Francis Xavier s missionary acivities. India was a departing point to Mozambique, the far east, Japan and off the coast of China and the returning point from these places. The pieces will be shipped from India through the Suez Cana to Vancouver and arrive at Camrose by rail. The three stained glass windows located on the wall behind the sanctuary will depict some of the life of St. Francis Xavier. The centre window is 22 feet high and nine feet wide and will depict the figure of St. Francis Xavier holding his cross. Below St. Francis Xavier and on each side of him is depicted the various people he evangelized those from India, Japan etc.. Also included are the First Nations Peoples of Canada evangelized by his Jesuit brothers (Then part of the New France beginning the year 1611 onward). Many were martyrs. We celebrate their feast St. John De Brebeuf and St. Isaac Jogues, Priests and Compannions, Martyrs on September 26 th in the Canadian Liturgical Calendar. The Canadian JESUIT Martyrs were canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930. They are called the secondary patron saints of Canada. The Martyrs Shrine is located at Midland, Ontario.
The other window on the wall behind the sanctuary on the west side of the St. Francis Xavier window depicts his travels over the oceans to evangelize the far east. The window on the east side of him depicts the symbols of the Jesuit Order, namely the flame of fire and the cross symbols of the zeal to evangelize in the name and mission of Jesus Christ. The three windows on the wall behind the sanctuary will be developed with donations from companies. All other donations must support the building and its essentials. The best time to install these windows is one year after construction begins. A down payment of $25,000.00 would have to be deposited when church construction begins and a final payment of $50,000.00 - $55,000.00 when installation has been completed. Our Church will also have attached to the nave of the Church, a chapel to be named St. Francis Xavier Chapel. It is designed similar to a Japanese lantern symbolizing St. Francis Xavier s evangelization of Japan and his dream, vision and desire to evangelize China.
In regard to the relic placed in the altar in our present church, there are no records in the parish or diocese indicating which saint the relic comes from. I have obtained a relic of St. Francis Xavier and it will be placed on the back side of the new marble altar. The marble floor of the sanctuary will have on it a cross of marble stretching from end to end of the sanctuary. This reminds us what takes place on the altar, the cross Jesus carried for our new life and the cross of St. Francis Xavier always carried in his hand. The statue of St. Francis Xavier here in the church, which I think was donated for the first church built in Camrose in 1909 will be refurbished and placed in the St. Francis Xavier Chapel. The other three hand carved wooden statues of St. Francis Xavier, St. Joseph the Worker and Mary and the baby Jesus will be located in the galleria area (large entry area) of the church to help provide a sacred space as one enters the church. Handouts are availablewhich tell the story of St. Francis Xavier and his missionary journeys to spread the faith to the far east, to Japan and his dream, vision and desire to evangelize China. In an Angus Reid Institute poll conducted on March 4 th 11 th, 2015 it quotes Reginald Bibby: The thing that pumps new life into religion in Canada has been this mammoth entrance of Catholics. The poll says: Religion isn t dying. It may be rising from the grave. One of the quotes in the poll has Father Lorne Crozon, Rector at Holy Rosary Cathedral, saying: If you saw a black person on the street, he was either a new doctor in town or he was playing for the (Saskatchewan) Roughriders But now there are a huge number of Filipinos, but there is also an influx from Nigeria, Eritrea and India. One of the things that the immigrant community does is it goes to church We re growing in bunches. The brothers of St. Francis Xavier (The Jesuit Canadian Martyrs) evangelization of New France (part of Canada) is now developing in a new way. The dream, vision and desire of St. Francis Xavier to evangelize China is starting to come about. The Angus Reid poll says: With Christianity on a global rise as one example, there could be 220 million Christians in China by 2050, according to Bibby one can extrapolate now more immigration to Canada means more potential believers The reality is that groups depending on natural increase are dead in the water. There s just not enough people being born to offset the number who are dying.
Windows For The Nave of St. Francis Xavier Church Windows on the West side starting on the North end 1. Annunciation with the Angel Gabriel 2. The Nativity of Jesus 3. The Boy Jesus Teaching in the Temple 4. The Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist Windows on the East side starting on the South end 1. The Last Supper 2. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus 3. The Resurrection 4. Pentecost Coming of the Holy Spirit