Francis
Borgia belonged to one of the most prominent families of the kingdom of
Aragon, a family that gave the Church two popes. His father, Juan
Borgia, was the third Duke of Gandia. On his mother Juana’s side,
Francis was the great-grandson of King Ferdinand V of Aragon.
On
his arrival at the imperial court at eighteen, Francis crossed paths
momentarily with a man who impressed him, and who was being arrested by
the Inquisition: Ignatius of Loyola. The following year, Francis married
Eleanor de Castro, a Portuguese noblewoman, with whom he had eight
children. On his father’s death in 1543, he became the fourth Duke of
Gandia.
At his wife's death in 1546, Francis sought admittance to
the Society of Jesus. Finally, in 1550, after settling his children and
the affairs of his estate, he entered the Jesuits in Rome. The news of
the “Duke turned Jesuit” spread and at his first public Mass the crowd
was so great, the altar had to be moved outside.
After doing
wonders throughout his country he crossed into Portugal and surpassed
himself there. In 1554 St. Ignatius made him commissary general of the
Society of Jesus in Spain.
As
commissary general, he practically founded the Society in Spain
establishing many houses and colleges. He was crucial in dissolving the
prejudices that his relative, Emperor Charles V, harbored against the
Jesuits. He also assisted at the death of the dowager queen Juana, who
had gone mad fifty years before, on the death of her husband. She died
healed and at peace. He also met St. Teresa of Avila, the great reformer
of the Carmelite Order, and was the first to recognize her greatness.
Back
in Rome, St. Charles Borromeo, and Cardinal Ghislieri, later Pope Pius
V. regularly attended his sermons. At the death of Father Laynez, second
general of the Jesuits, Francis was elected Father General of the
Jesuit Order.
Backed by St. Pius V who admired and trusted him,
he was able to do great things for the Order in Rome and abroad,
building two churches, and at times using his personal influence to
obtain acceptance of the Jesuits.
Worn by the responsibilities of
his post and a last trip throughout Europe in which he was publicly
hailed as a saint, he returned to Rome on a littler. Through his
brother, Thomas, he sent a blessing to his children and grandchildren,
and as their names were spoken to him, he prayed for each. He died on
the night of September 30.
Saturday, October 10, 2020
St. Francis Borgia
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