Xavier Preaches in the Moluccas

1546

The Spanish Jesuit Francis Xavier, sailing east under Portuguese auspices, preached among the Malay-speaking fishermen of the Spice Islands. He baptized thousands in settlements where clove trees scented the harbors. Asia's first large-scale Catholic mission had found its tireless walker. His letters describing volcanic landscapes and clove harvests were circulated across Europe, inspiring a generation of Jesuit missionaries.