Born in 1506 at Xavier Castle in the Kingdom of Navarre, Spain. He met Ignatius of Loyola at the University of Paris and in 1534 became a co-founder of the Society of Jesus. After missionary work in Goa, India, he was inspired by a Japanese man named Anjiro (Yajiro) he met in Malacca to journey to Japan. On August 15, 1549, he landed at Kagoshima, becoming the first missionary to bring Christianity to Japan. In Kagoshima, he met Shimazu Takahisa, the daimyo of Satsuma, and gained permission to preach, but was later expelled due to opposition from Buddhist monks. He then traveled through Hirado, Yamaguchi, and Bungo (Oita), vigorously spreading the faith. In Yamaguchi he received the protection of Ouchi Yoshitaka, and by presenting Western gifts such as clocks and spectacles, he won about 500 converts. In Bungo he met Otomo Sorin, establishing a relationship with what would become one of Japan's foremost Christian daimyo families. Although his stay in Japan lasted only two years and three months, he baptized approximately 1,000 Japanese and founded churches in Kagoshima, Yamaguchi, and Bungo. He left Japan in 1551, aiming to evangelize China, but died of illness on Shangchuan Island off Canton in 1552, aged 46. Posthumously canonized in 1622, he was declared patron saint of Eastern missions. Xavier's arrival marked a civilizational turning point in Japanese history, bringing transformative change alongside the introduction of firearms and Nanban culture.