Church History in Plain Language

by Bruce L. Shelley

In 1534 some fisherfolk, living on the southeast coast, had sought the protection of the king of Portugal. Robbers on land and sea had been making their lives miserable. The Portuguese agreed to protect them providing they would accept Christian baptism. They did, but for the first eight years of their Christian profession they had no one to explain to them the mysteries of their new faith. Xavier, “the little dark man,” stepped into that need. He went everywhere over the burning sand hills where the fisher villages were scattered. He would ring a handbell to call the villagers together and recite the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Rosary. When the fisherfolk had learned the words and professed their belief in the Creed, Xavier would baptize them by the hundreds until his hands dropped from exhaustion. After three years he had an organized church to pass on to his successors.