[
    {
        "id": 216207,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2002",
        "page_number": 506,
        "title": "RAS-2002",
        "content_text": "440\n\n- who were very friendly and didn't mind us snapping away.\n\nAll too soon, it was time to head back for the 2.30pm ferry (and the dreaded customs hall that was rumoured to be tough-going, but in fact gave us no problems). In all, a relaxing and different weekend which was fun and gave us a sense of achievement.\n\nDetails of St Francis Xavier's life and links to St John's Island (as gleaned from a search on the Web and other sources)\n\nSt. Francis spent 10 years in Asia and became known as the Apostle of the East. He was the third son of a high official and was born in April 1506 in the Castle of Xavier in Navarre in Northern Spain. Francis was influenced by Ignatius of Loyola and his “Spiritual Exercises” while they lived in Paris. Later, while in India, Francis became a member of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, which Ignatius had been instrumental in founding. Francis left Lisbon in 1541 and travelled via Mozambique to Goa in 1542. Many were converted, inspired by his life, writings and teaching. He travelled to Malacca in 1545, translated prayers into Malay, and again won many converts. He travelled to the Moluccas, to Cochin (1548), to Kagoshima (1549) and to Kyoto (1550).\n\nIn 1551 he resolved to return to Goa and his ship called in to St John's Island in December 1551. St John's Island was a common port of call for Portuguese ships in those times. While Francis was there, a Portuguese prisoner in Guangdong, probably a smuggler who had been caught by the Chinese authorities, managed to get a letter to a friend of Francis's. The letter suggested the sending of an ambassador to China to seek help for such prisoners. Francis saw opportunities in this and set out from Goa again in April 1552. He intended to bring the news of Christ to China and, with others on board the \"Santa Cruz,\" intended to pursue the release of Portuguese prisoners. However, when they called in at Malacca, they found the Captain of Malacca, a son of Vasco da Gama, resented the appointment of an ambassador other than himself. He allowed the Santa Cruz to leave Malacca, but only without the ambassador.\n\nFrancis realised his mission was in peril but arrived at St John's Island in August 1552. The Chinese authorities forbade him to enter",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2002.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 216208,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2002",
        "page_number": 507,
        "title": "RAS-2002",
        "content_text": "441\n\nI\n\nChina, He tried to make informal arrangements but was unable to persuade anyone to smuggle him in. The other Portuguese ships left St John's so that when Francis fell ill of fever in November, his ship was the only Portuguese ship in the port. Francis died unattended by any of his brethren and without the last religious rites.\n\nHis corpse was reported to have been surrounded by lime in the coffin before it was buried in a grave on a beach on St John's Island. The lime was intended to accelerate the decomposition of the flesh so that the bones might be more conveniently returned to Malacca. However, when the Santa Cruz was ready to return in February 1553, the corpse was found to be intact so the whole coffin was returned to Malacca. The corpse was again buried in Malacca for five months but again was found not to have perished when it was exhumed and returned to Goa in 1554. Francis was canonised in 1622 with a feast day of 2 December. His body was transferred to the Basilica of Bom Jesus in 1624. It is now preserved intact, minus a right arm which was severed at the elbow and taken to Rome in 1614 and a toe, reportedly bitten off in ecstasy by a lady on viewing his corpse.\n\nThe 450th anniversary of the death of St Francis was commemorated by the Macau Ricci Institute who arranged a Symposium in Macau on 28th and 29th November. Some members of the RAS HK Branch attended this seminar which was followed by a visit to St John's Island.\n\nPhillip Bruce, a Branch member, had visited St John's Island before he left for Spain. He wrote to us from Spain, and noted that he had visited the castle at Xavier, the birthplace of St Francis. \"A spartan place, with, not surprisingly, a huge Jesuit college next to it. It is really interesting to have seen both the beginning and the end of the story.\"",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2002.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278",
        "rank": 0
    }
]