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HE IN MALACCA

Malacca is the most haunted place in South East Asia, forthe antiquity of this city is evident from the crumblingruins on St. Paul's Hill, to the dilapidated, old Hang Tush'swell at Duyong . There is no doubt that every nook andcorner of Malacca is steeped in history, which lends charmand nostalgia to Malacca's quaintness .

Discovered by Parameswara in the 14th century,Malacca grew from a tiny fishing village by the river-mouth,to a great port of call. The Sultans who ruled her, afterParameswara, were wealthy and pompous . They ruledsupreme, boasting power and prestige that was the envy ofneighouring kingdoms and monarchs .

History changed in the late 15th Century. Thesilks, spices and the wealth of the East, roused thecrusading and adventuruous Portuguese to venture firstlyto Goa, then to Malacca and beyond .

. In 1511, the Portuguese arrived at Malacca. Theywasted no time in fortifying the city and within a year, built'A Famosa', complete with churches, hospitals and even acastle. Wi th the precincts of this walled city a polyglotpopulat ion of traders, merchants and soldiers mingled freelyin confused uproar, bargaining and bartering in everylanguage imaginable.

Indeed, Malacca's port bustled with activity, asships from all over the world, called daily to trade.Certainly, she throbbed w ith the excitement of a roaringtrade in silks, spices gold and silver. Malacca held firm ly tothe monopoly of this trade, which flourished and reached itspeak during those one hundred and thirty years ofPortuguese supremacy, in this part of the world .

Five and the half centuries have elapsed since, andtime has taken a toll of old Malacca. Her great epoch is

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over. Her prosperity diminished. All that is left are vestigesof that once gloriou s era and an echo in the ruins thathauntingly resounds the existence of that great past.

Malacca abounds in legends and folklore and wewould certainly hold ourselves in awe, should these ancientlaterite stones speak. Yes,most certainly they wou ld revealthe whereabouts of that long, lost tunnel, Malaccans stilltalk about, or where those pots of gold were hidden in hasteas the enemy devastated the citv . But, most intriguing ofall, they would reveal that closely guarded secret, of howrich Malaccans and wealthy merchants, indulged in theirwealth and appeased their appetites, in sins of the flesh.

Yes, it was against a background of greatprosperity, mingled wi th immo rality, w ickedness and luxury-loving people that a great man appeared in Malacca.

That man was Francis Xaiver, the Apostl e of theEast.

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FRANCIS XAVIER - EARLY DAYS

Francis Xavier was born in the gloomy battlements of XavierCastle Spain, in Apr il, 1506. He was the youngest of fivechildren. His father was an intelligent man with a doctoratein Law. His mother was of noble birth and w hen shemarried Don Juan de Jussue, she brought as part of herdowry, Xavier castle. The family lived in their littledominion of Navarre for a long time, despite the manybombardments from jealous feudal lords.

Francis Xavier received his education from thechaplains who resided at the castle. His two elder brothersbecame 'Guerrilleros', (soldiers) as Navarre was constantlyat battle over the feudal system. On one occasion, Navarresuffered outrageously from the onslaught of the enemy,whi ch reduced the tiny dominion to grave destruct ion andpoverty .

Francis, disliked battles but the imprint of Navarre,with its intense religious feelings, its spirit of loyalty andsense of human dignity , was deeply marked on him. Unlikehis brothers, he spent his format ive years in the recluse ofthe Castle library reading and learning as much as he could,w ith the help of the chaplains. At the age of 18, hecontemplated leaving home to go to France to further hisstudies and to broaden his outlook on life beyond the castlewalls. In September, 1525 this home-spun youth left hisprestigious home and family to face the world . Hetravelled on foot and sometimes on horseback, to finallyarrive at Paris. He brought wi th him suff icient money to livefrugally, until he managed to enrol and gain admittance atthe University of Paris.

Xavier chose to study at the University of Paris,because it offered a wider scope of studies than any ofthose in Spain. He enrolled at the College of S1. Barbara,where most of the students spoke Spanish and Portuguese

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and Xavier felt at home with them. The College was alsonoted for its professors who were all distinguishedintellectu als. The King of Portugal protected the college,and gave many scholarships to Portuguese students whostudied there.

At first Xavier found life at college, hard, for thestudents had to wake up at four in the morning, tocommence an arduous day of study and hard work .At recreation too , they were obliged to read the works ofthe great philosop hers such as Aristotl e and Socrates. (3)However, the rigor of life at the university had its manycompensations. Diversions in the form of pageants, fairs,sports and dancing were organized for the enjoyment of all.Xavier took a keen interest in sports, particularly the High­Jum p at which he excelled and was duly acclaimed the besthigh-jumper on the campus. (4) He work ed hard at the sportand was very proud of his athletic achievement.

In his third year at St. Barbara's Xavier met afellow student wh o was destined to reshape his w hole life.That student was Ignatius Loyola. There was no love lostbetw een the two , even from the day Xavier was firstintroduced to Loyola. Xavier disliked everything aboutLoyola. He resented his quiet manner and gentleness. Hedespised him, often ridiculing whatever Loyola said or did.There were occasions whe n he scoffed at Loyola's idealsand aspirations, saying that they were only a dreamer'sfantasy.

Loyola, for all the resentment he received,remained the epitome of tolerance, patience and kindness.He knew there was a way of winning over this stone­hearted man from Navarre. Only time was the essence ofthis plan.

Xavier on the other hand, kept proud and aloof .When he learnt that Loyola was the very soldier whobrought about the downfall of Navarre, he despised himeven more. He resolved never to speak to him, nor to

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count him among his friends. Once he defied authority byrefusing to help Loyola with his stud ies when he wasassigned the task to do so. Instead, he shoved the burdenon to one of his friends who proved to be a better teacherthan Xavier.

The Castle of Javier as it is today.

Six months after Loyola arrived at St. Barbara's,Xavier obtained his second degree. This enable him to teachanywhere in the world, now that the world was his oyster.Being ambitious, he wanted to pursue his Master's, but theexorbitant fee deterred him. Instead he decided to take on ateachinq job at St. Barbara's. In the circumstances, hecont inued to reside at the college and consequently metLoyola more often than he would have liked to .

The day came when the two men had to share aroom at the College. Xavier found it extremely diff icult toaccept the new arrangement . He could not and wou ld notagree to share his privacy with someone who brought aboutthe downfa ll of Navarre. He tried every means of gettingout of the predicament , but to no avail. Thrown into thissituat ion, Xavier did his utmost to keep out of Loyola'ssight. He could not bear to look at Loyola's gentle eyes, forfear of falling into the "trap" .

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Perhaps it was at this juncture in Xavier's life that anew awakening came over him. He began to appreciateLoyola's kindness and tolerance whi ch magnified his ownshortcomings. He saw the depth of Loyola's ideals andaspirations. He noticed the strength of Loyola's soul incomparison to his own. Suddenly he felt small, inferior andunworthy. Xavier also began to realise that all the worldlypride he had would ult imately gain him nothing-nothing thatcould not be taken away from him. Torn and bothered bythese thoughts, Xavier wrestled with his conscience, untilno longer able to withstand the turmoil within his soul, hemade up his mind to dedicate his service to Loyola's idealsand aspirations.

This sudden change of heart overwhelmed evenLoyola himself, w ho in amazement, remarked that Xavierwas the hardest piece of clay he ever moulded 'The turningpoint in Xavier's life had come. Toqether with a number ofyoung men, Loyola and Xavier fo rmed a student-body toput themselves at the disposal of the Pope to go anywherein the world to man the posts of danger in the church. Thisenormous task, to be undertaken by young graduates ofUniversity of Paris, won the admiration of many. Onceagain, the King of Portugal was the first to appreciate andto show interest in this group . Because of the King'sprofound interest in colonising as well as spreading theFaith , Malacca had the good fortune of receiving FrancisXavier.

Xavier received, inaudience, by the King ofPortugal, before he leftLisbon for India, on the7th of April, 1541. Bycourtesy of ArquivoNacional Ultramarino,Portugal.

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Lisbon-Gateway to India and the Far East

Lisbon, known then as the commercial capital ofthe wo rld, bustled with intense activity . Like Malacca, herport too, was busy with ships from all over the worldloading or unloading rich merchandise . Aromatic spices,exotic silks, gold and silver ornaments, all these arrived dailyin considerable abundance, mesmerising her populationwho were only interested in amassing wealth and luxury.So engrossed were they in their vanity that it is no wonder,nobody noticed the dishevelled 16th century traveller intheir midst.

Xavier had just arrived in Lisbon. He had anappointmen t to keep with three friends in the city . He waslate for time had caught up with him as he trudged wearilyover mountains and hills, across plains and rivers, throughpouring rain, sleet and snow, to fina lly reach hisdestination. His friends were overjoyed to meet him. Thelast time they were togethe r was when they had pledged tomeet in Lisbon-that was years ago-in the hope of makingthe voyage to the east together.

The friends were overjoyed at the meeting withXavier and although he was completely worn out by histravels, the sight of his friends brought renewed vigour andvitality. He listened eagerly to all they had to tell him abouttheir days in Lisbon and how they went about doing acts ofcharity among the poor and the sick. He was glad that theykept themselves well occupied, for in so doing , they hadprepared themselves to go out to the unknown East. Xavierthen briefly outlined his plan of evangelization for India andthe Far East.

At first, Xavier's presence in Lisbon wasinsignif icant , for nobody cared about this group of youngpriests who were doing what priests ought to do,that is theirpriestly duties, and caring for the sick and the poor. Butnews soon went around that Xavier was no ordinary priest.

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They heard that he was of noble birth and was planning togo to the East. Anybody, who was preparing to go to theEast, was topic for much discussion. Xavier and his friendswas no exception . People began to pay more attention towhatever he did. They noticed his many deeds of kindnessand chari ty. They did not believe that a nobleman likeXavier would condescend to live in the squalor of the poor .They abhorred his close proximity with the sick and thedying. Their curiosity was now aroused and the whole ofLisbon was talking about Xavier and his friends.

Soon, the news of Xavier reached the Royal circleand the King summoned him to the Palace immediately. Hewas eager to know who this nobleman priest was and

where he came from . When their Majesties learnt thatXavier was indeed of noble heritage, they invited him tostay in the palace, but he politely refused, stating that hepreferred to be with the poor . The King was glad thatXavier was doing a fine job at the Hospital and praised himfor his wo rk. Again , in true humility, he thanked hisMajesty and added that he was only helping God's peoplewho were helpless. The King and Queen were certainlyimpressed by Xavier's fine qualities and noble deeds thatthey were ever ready to help him with whateve r he wantedand at anyt ime. It was at this juncture that Xavier told theKing that he hoped to go to India some day to bring theFaith there, and from there to the Spice Islands. Thisimpressed the King furt her to know the kind of grit anddeterminati on Xavier was made of.

The King then ordered a ship to be prepared withall the necessary facilit ies for Xavier's long voyage to India.In the meantime too, the King tried to dissuadeXavier from making the voyage stating that his serviceswould achieve more in Lisbon, than would be possible inanother part of the world . Once again Xavier thanked hisMajesty for the very kind words and in humility replied thathe had a mission to accomplish in the Eastand the soonerhe went the better (5).

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Time and opportunity presented itself and on the7th Ap ril, 1541, Xavier, his friends and some hundreds ofothers, boarded the mighty galleon 'Santiago' to sail awayon that long and hazardous voyage, across the mostperilous waters to India and then to the Far East.

The voyage was long, tedious and overwheminglyuncomfortable. Many fell ill and died. Many suffered sea­sickness as the vessel rocked and rolled in stormy weather.Xavier himself was seasick on many occasions during the

journey. Some wished they had never come; others cursedthemselves for their greed; but when land was sightedeverybody regained new strength and vigour.

Francis Xavier remained in India for nearly 2 Y:zyears and during this time, he taught the people,preached to them and he translated the prayers andprecepts of the Church int o the people's own language.Xavier had the wonde rful gift of tongu es and wherever hewent he spoke the language of the country, to the utteramazement of the people.

Having established Christianity in India, he wasready to leave on another lap of his crusading jou rney-th istime to Malacca the Moluccas and the Spice Islands beyond

Paint ing of St . Francis; Xavier depicting him, preaching in Indiaperhaps to people speaking different languages.

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