On this day 473 years ago, on December 3, 1552 (November 18, 1552 lunar calendar), St. Francis Xavier, one of the founders of the Society of Jesus, died. St. Francis Xavier (also translated as St. Francis of Xavier, Spanish: San Francisco Javier, English: St. Francis of Xavier, April 7, 1506 - December 3, 1552) was one of the founders of the Society of Jesus and first spread Catholicism to Malacca and Japan in Asia. The Catholic Church calls it "the greatest missionary in history"; it is "the patron of missionaries". Xavier is the patron of two dioceses in China, Japan, Goa and Macau. The feast is scheduled for December 3 each year. Comments: A famous figure in the history of missionary missions is also mentioned in a considerable part of Limadou's Chinese notes.