Francis Xavier is of historical importance in two respects: (1) he was one of the small band of men who, led by Ignatius of Loyola, founded the Society of Jesus, and (2) he was the first Christian missionary to Japan. In addition to these major points of importance, he life and work are in close relation to the historical events, both ecclesiastical and secular, of the first half of the sixteenth century. A more complete biographical study of Xavier must bring in the names and offices of numerous leaders of church and state in many countries. It must also, at least to some extent, sketh the outlines of the condition of religion, of international rivalries, and of colonial expansion in his time. Our goal in the present study is a more modest one than such a biography. It concerns especially the mind of Francis Xavier in relation to his mission. Nevertheless, some attention to these broader aspects of the state of the world in Xavier's times have been found necessary as we have proceeded with our subject...

Thesis (D. Min.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 1999. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 240-251).

The work deals with the dissemination, duration, transformations and reception of the cult of an important Jesuit Saint, St. Francis Xavier, in the early modern Czech lands. Its goal is to contribute to the better understanding of the reality of the re-catholicization after the Battle of White Montain and the forms of Czech spirituality of the 17th and 18th century. This particular cult was selected because of the fact that St. Francis Xavier was closely related to the main (or most prominent) participant of the re-catholicization, i. e. the Jesuit order, where he in the informal hierarchy of Saints occupied the second place immediately after the founder of the Society St. Ignacius of Loyola. Moreover, St. Francis Xavier belonged among the five new Catholic Saints canonized in 1622 (St. Ignacius of Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Philipp Neri, and St. Isidore of Madrid), who represented an important constituent of the revived post-Tridentine Catholic spirituality. However, although the existing secondary literature presupposes that the reverence to St. Francis Xavier was widespread in the Czech Baroque, no systematic study of this theme was realized untill now. First chapter deals with the specification of the theme of the work, maps existing knowledge and sources available and...

K. I. Dientzenhofer in the service of Society of Jesus Abstract The Diploma Thesis aims to map the famous Jesuit religious buildings arising in the Czech kingdom by the hands of Kilian Ignac Dientzenhofer, as well as some smaller foundations or now-defunct constructions. Firstly it is the rural residences in Liběšice and the completion of the construction in Tuchoměřice or the dispensary in Smíchov, which has been demolished in 1930. Furthermore, the Holy Mountain Steps, which were only partially implemented according to the Dientzenhofer proposal. The Thesis also includes constructions where the architect's authorship is not proven, such as the Chapel of Sts. Archangel Michael in Kozinec and Chapel of Sts. Cross in Středokluky. An important part is also the effort to put these buildings into the context of the work of the younger Dientzenhofer and to get a closer look at the perception of their clients, including the typology of the architectural order within the function. Keywords The Church of St. Francis Xavier, the Church of St. Clement, the Church of St. Nicholas, the Church of St. Bartholomew, Prague, Opařany, Odolena Voda, Lesser Town, Tuchoměřice, Liběšice, radical Baroque, K. I. Dientzenhofer, Jesuits, architecture, rural residences, chapel