Born into a noble family at Xavier Castle in the Kingdom of Navarre, northern Spain.
At 19 he entered the University of Paris, where he met Ignatius of Loyola, who deeply influenced him.
With Loyola and five others, he vowed at Montmartre in Paris to devote his life to God—the beginning of what became the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
At the Portuguese king's request he was sent to preach in Asia and sailed from Lisbon. Reaching Goa in India the next year, he spread the faith while caring for the sick.
At Malacca in Southeast Asia he met a Japanese man, Anjirō (Yajirō). Hearing of the Japanese people's thirst for knowledge and courtesy, he resolved to go to Japan.
Guided by Anjirō he landed at Kagoshima, bringing Christianity to Japan for the first time. With permission from the lord Shimazu Takahisa, he preached while learning Japanese.
Via Hirado and Yamaguchi he set out for Kyoto to seek permission to preach from the emperor and shogun. Ōuchi Yoshitaka of Yamaguchi rebuffed him, and the winter journey was harsh.
In war-torn Kyoto he could meet neither emperor nor shogun. Back in Yamaguchi, now well dressed and bearing gifts, he met Ōuchi Yoshitaka and was allowed to preach. Ōtomo Yoshishige (Sōrin) of Bungo (Ōita) also welcomed him. That year he left Japan.
He aimed to preach in China, whose culture so influenced Japan, but fell ill on Shangchuan Island within sight of the mainland and died at 46.
Ōtomo SōrinLuís FróisŌuchi Yoshitaka
Hojo UjitsunaSaitō DōsanTaigen SessaiMōri MotonariŌuchi YoshitakaMatsunaga HisahideHōjō UjiyasuImagawa Yoshimoto
People of the Sengoku/Azuchi-Momoyama period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.