St. Francis Xavier was Ignatius of Loyola’s dear friend and with him cofounded the Society of Jesus in the sixteenth century. He was one of the greatest missionaries of all time, bringing the Gospel to much of Asia, including India and Japan, dying in Shangchuan Island before he could begin his mission to China.

Francis also visited Malacca, an island in what is now Malaysia, five times from 1545 to 1552. Through his work, the Jesuits established a church and school that ran until the Catholics were expelled from the island after the Dutch took it over in 1641.

But God brings good works to their completion. Three hundred years later, French Jesuits fled to Malacca after being expelled from communist China. They saw their exile as an opportunity to minister to the few thousand Catholics in Malacca who longed for more of the faith they had tasted and seen.

The Church of St. Francis Xavier opened in February 1961 and serves a vibrant Malaysian community, continuing the work of its namesake.