Today we celebrate this saint, Javier, who is a prototype of missionaries in the line of the universal mission of the Church. His motivation was the evangelical love for God and man, with primary attention to what has priority value in him: his soul, where man's eternal destiny is at stake. This evangelical principle stimulated his interior life. Zeal for souls was in him a “passionate impatience.” He felt, like another Paul, the uncontrollable urge of a conscience fully responsible for the missionary mandate and the love of Christ (cf. 2 Cor 5:14), ready to give his temporal life for the spiritual health of his brothers.

This saint was clearly aware that faith is a gift from God, and he based his trust on prayer, which he practiced assiduously, accompanying it with sacrifices and penances; and also asked the recipients of his letters for the help of their prayers.

—Saint Francis Xavier modeled his identity on the full acceptance of the will of God and on communion with the Church and its representatives, translated into obedience and fidelity as a messenger; and always acted with universal vision and horizons, in harmony with the mission of the Church, universal sacrament of salvation.