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Saint
Francis Xavier, SJ (1506-1552) page 2 of 3 |



PORTUGUESE INDIA , Scott 517-519, MACAO, Scott 365-367, and
PORTUGUESE TIMOR, Scott 272-4
1952, the 4th centenary of his death
showing his statue on an alms box, the reliquary of his arm and his tomb

PORTUGUESE INDIA, 1952, souvenir sheets for the 4th centenary of Xavier's
death, Scott 520-521
based on the Bom Gesu portrait of Xavier

MACAO, 1951, dark brown and reddish brown, Scott 354 and 357
PORTUGUESE INDIA, 1946, black & gray, Scott 464, issued on a mini
sheet of 8 with John de Britto
1948, dark green & yellow green, Scott 476, issued on a mini sheet of 5
(below)
and 1952, dark violet & black, Scott 523, issued as part of a tête-bêche
pair with label (below)

PORTUGUESE INDIA, 1952, to publicize Portuguese India's first stamp exhibition,
Scott 523a

PORTUGUESE INDIA, 1952, Scott 479a

COLOMBIA, 1968, the 39th Eucharistic Congress in Bogota, Scott C503
based on Gregorio Vasquez's painting of Xavier preaching
INDIA, 1974, showing the sarcophagus and statue of the saint, Scott 647,
and its FDI cancel
Xavier's sarcophagus crowns a marble monument, the gift of Cosmo III of Tuscany
and executed by J.B.Foggini

MACAO, 1989, a mini sheet honoring
Portuguese influence in Asia pictured Xavier on one of its stamps, Scott 607,
based on André Reinoso's painting (1619), St. Francis Xavier Calming
a Storm at Sea,
which is at the Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Lisboa / Museu de São
Roque, Lisbon, Portugal

PANAMA, Christmas of 1988, Scott 753
This painting by an unknown master shows The Virgin with Ignatius to the left
and Xavier to the right.
BOLIVIA, Christmas of 1993, Xavier is at the bottom right in this painting
of the Virgin and Child with Saints, Scott 901F.
This stamp also appears on the souvenir sheet below

ST VINCENT & GRENADINES, 1993, a bicentennial of the Louvre souvenir
sheet, Scott 1779h
(one of very many issued by various countries in the same format)
shows this detail from Poussin's The Miracle of St. Francis Xavier (also
shown)
In 1641 Poussin received a commission from Sublet de Noyers, Superintendent of the Royal Factories of Louis XIII, to paint a great picture for the high altar of the Jesuit Novitiate. It is, in fact, the largest work executed by Poussin: Saint Francis Xavier returning to the life the daughter of an inhabitant of Kagoshima in Japan. Near the saint, the Jesuit brother Juan Fernández (also seen in the stamps below), moved by the miracle, falls to his knees and lifts his face to the sky. Each member of the family shows a different feeling: pain, gratitude, surprise.

The 450th anniversary of the arrival of Portuguese in Japan
MACAO, 1993, Scott 705, and PORTUGAL, 1993, Scott 1965
These religious are presumably the three Jesuit missionaries: St. Francis Xavier, Brother Juan Fernández, and Father Cosme de Torres, who left together from Goa for Japan on 17 April, 1549. They reached Japan on July 27, 1549 but went ashore at the city of Kagoshima in Japan only on 15 August 1549.Interestingly, the postmark below marks the 400th anniversary of his arrival in Japan on May 25, 1949 (the 24th year of the Showa Era), the same date that General Douglas MacArthur made a statement in Tokyo "on the 400th anniversary of St. Francis Xavier's pilgrimage to Japan."
VATICAN, 16 March 2006, the triple Jesuit Jubilee year, Scott 1324
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PORTUGAL, 2006, the 500th anniversary of Xavier's birth: two individual stamps and a souvenir sheet, Scott 2806-08
The Indians are portrayed as North American Indians, a common error at one time.
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COLOMBIA, 2006, the 500th anniversary of Xavier's birth, Scott 1259
beside the statue of Xavier is the entrance to the Pontifical Xaverian University in Bogotá,
the inscription over the door reads 1623 Sapientia aedificavit sibi domum (Wisdom has built herself a house)
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ITALY, 2006, the 5th centenary of the birth of St. Francis Xavier, Scott 2771
with details from André Reinoso, The Miracle of Saint Francis Xavier (1619)
at the Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Lisboa / Museu de São Roque, Lisbon, PortugalThe design on this Italian stamp is inspired by Reinoso's painting to its right. The painting illustrates a legendary miracle: St. Francis raising a dead person to life in Sri Lanka. As with the companion stamp of St. Ignatius, the design represents the saint with two others while ignoring other elements of the original, including here the deceased.
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SPAIN, 2006, the 500th anniversary of Xavier's birth, Scott 3460
Spain used the Salaverría painting as it did in 1952.
In the background is a 19th-century Japanese painting of Xavier arriving in Kagoshima
(the editing has cleverly concealed the stain on the original).
PHILIPPINES, 2006, the 50th anniversary of Xavier School in the Philippines and the 500th of Xavier's birth, Scott 3049d
The stamp shows a bronze statue of Xavier by Virginia Ty-Navarro cast to mark the school's 20th year on its San Juan campus
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MACAO, 2006, the Society of Jesus issue, Scott 1206, 1209, with its FDI cancel
With its Society of Jesus issue of 4 stamps and a souvenir sheet containing a fifth, Macao marked various anniversaries, including the 500th anniversary of the birth of St. Francis Xavier, the first Jesuit to set foot on Chinese soil, even if he did not reach mainland China for which he was heading. Macao was awarded for this issue the 2007 St. Gabriel Award for the Best Religious Stamps.
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AUSTRALIA, 2006, personalized label se-tenant with an Australian stamp, Scott 2426
sponsored by Xavier College, Melbourne, Victoria to celebrate the Three Companions Jubilee of 2006.
The label shows two views of the school and two images of Xavier.
THE PHILIPPINES, 2008, the 75th anniversary of Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City,
also featuring a statue of Xavier on the grounds of the university
BELGIUM, 2006, two personalized labels, creations of Fr. Roland Francart, SJ, Belgium,
for the Jubilee of Loyola, Xavier, and Faber,
showing them with St. Alberto Hurtado, the seal of the Society and a logo of the Jubilee, one se-tenant with Scott 2111
the second se-tenant with a 2007 stamp (no Scott number)
BELGIUM, personalized labels created by Fr. Roland Francart, SJ,
for the Jubilee of Loyola, Xavier, and Faber, se-tenant with a 2007 stamp
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SPAIN, 2007, three personalized stamps (tu sello) designed by Francisco Javier Martínez Malpartida
with a face value of "A" which is the national rate.
They show Xavier taking leave of his family to study in Paris, the Xavier castle and coat of arms,
the portrait of Xavier, and of the King John III of Portugal who send Xavier to the Indies.
There are also envelopes and post cards to accompany these stamps, examples of which are below.