St. Francis Borgia
Posted on September 30, 2020 by admin No comments
Born: 28 October 1510 Duchy of Gandía, Kingdom of Valencia, Spain
Died: 30 September 1572 (aged 61) Rome, Papal States
Venerated: in Catholic Church
Beatified: 23 November 1624, Madrid, Kingdom of Spain by Pope Urban VIII
Canonized: 20 June 1670, Rome by Pope Clement X
Major shrine: Relics translated to Jesuit church in Madrid, 1901
Feast: 30 September 10 October (General Roman Calendar 1688–1969)
Patronage: Against earthquakes; Portugal; Gandía; Rota, Marianas
Born to the nobility, the great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI; grandson of King Ferdinand of Aragon; son of Duke Juan Borgia. Raised in the court of King Charles V and educated at Saragossa, Spain. Married Eleanor de Castro in 1529, and the father of eight children. Accompanied Charles on his expedition to Africa, 1535, and to Provence, 1536. Viceroy of Catalonia, 1539-1543. Duke of Gandia, 1543-1550. Widower in 1546.
Friend and advisor of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Joined the Jesuits in 1548. Ordained in 1551. Notable preacher. Given charge of the Jesuit missions in the East and West Indies. Commissary-general of the Jesuits in Spain in 1560. General of the Jesuits in 1565. Under his generalship the Society established its missions in Florida, New Spain and Peru, and greatly developed its internal structures. Concerned that Jesuits were in danger of getting too involved in their work at the expense of their spiritual growth, he introduced their daily hour-long meditation. His changes and revitalization of the Society led to him being sometimes called the “Second Founder of the Society of Jesus”. He worked with Pope Saint Pius V and Saint Charles Borromeo in the Counter-Reformation.
Novena to St. Francis Borgia
(Please recite this novena for 9 consecutive days)
“O Lord Jesus Christ, the pattern and reward of true humility, we beseech Thee, that as Thou didst make blessed Francis a glorious follower of Thee in the contempt of worldly honour, so thou wouldst grant us to be partakers of the same imitation and glory.” Such is the prayer the Church offers through thee to her divine Spouse. She knows that the Saints always have great power with God; but especially when they would obtain for their devout clients the virtues they themselves more particularly cultivated when on earth.
How precious is this prerogative in thy case, O Francis, for it concerns the virtue which attracts God’s grace in this life, and wins such glory hereafter! Since pride has hurled Lucifer into the abyss, and the self-abasement of the Son of God has led to His exaltation above the heavens,–humility, whatever men may now say, has lost nothing of its inestimable value; it is still the indispensable foundation of every durable edifice, whether spiritual or social; the basis, without which the other virtues, and even charity the Queen of them all, could not subsist a single day. Therefore, O Francis, obtain for us this humility; thoroughly convince us of the vanity of this world’s honours and false pleasures. May the holy Society, which thou after St. Ignatius didst render still more valuable to the Church, cherish this spirit of thine, so that it may deserve more and more the esteem of heaven and the gratitude of earth. Amen.