Francis Borgia

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For other uses, see Francisco de Borja (disambiguation).
Francis Borgia
Francis Borgia by Alonso Cano, Museum of Fine Arts, Seville
Confessor
BornFrancisco de Borja y Aragón
October 28, 1510
Gandia, Kingdom of Valencia, Spain
DiedSeptember 30, 1572 (aged 61)
Rome, Papal States
Venerated inCatholic Church
Canonized1671 by Pope Clement X
Major shrineJesuit Church of Maldonado, Madrid
FeastOctober 3 (Roman Rite)
Attributesa skull crowned with an imperial crown

Francisco de Borja y Aragón, also known as Saint Francis Borgia[1] (Gandia, October 28, 1510 – Rome, September 30, 1572)[2] was the 3rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus, 4th Duke of Gandia, 1st Marquis of Lombay, Grandee of Spain and Viceroy of Catalonia.

Francis Borgia was the son of Juan de Borja y Enríquez de Luna, 3rd Duke of Gandia, and of Juana de Aragón y Gurrea,[3] natural daughter of Alonso de Aragón, Viceroy of Aragon, illegitimate son of King Ferdinand II of Aragon,[4] and of Ana de Gurrea, Viscountess of Evol. On his father's side, he was the great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo de Borja).[4]

Childhood and youth

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Ducal Palace of Gandia, birthplace of Francis Borgia.

He received his first education in Zaragoza, where he was taken around 1520, when he was 10 years old. There his teacher was the philosopher and mathematician Gaspar Lax, known as the Prince of logic.[5] Although as a child he was very pious and wished to become a monk, his family sent him to the court of the Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire, and in 1522 he was at the palace of Tordesillas to serve Queen Joanna I, who was confined there.[6]

In 1528, Juan de Borja granted his firstborn son half of the barony of Llombay and the title of baron,[7] while the Emperor Charles V appointed him gentleman of the House of Burgundy. In 1529, his marriage was arranged with Leonor de Castro, close friend, Mistress of the Horse and Lady of the Empress Isabella.[8] He came to be a "great favorite" («gran privado») of the Emperor. The Empress herself, in the absence of the Emperor and acting with full powers as Regent, appointed him her Master of the Horse, as his wife already was, and raised the title of the barony of Llombay to a marquisate.[9]

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Isabella of Portugal, portrayed in 1548 by Titian. The death of the Empress made such a deep impression on Francis Borgia that he regarded that date as that of his conversion.

The Empress Isabella of Portugal died in Toledo on May 1, 1539, at only 36 years of age. She was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time, as a canvas by Titian attests. This death made a very deep impression on Francis Borgia, who from then on remembered it every year in his Diary, considering it the date of his conversion:

For the Empress who died on a day like today. For what the Lord worked in me through her death. For the years that are completed today since my conversion.[10]

— Francis Borgia

Philip, son of Isabella of Portugal, presided over the funeral, and Francis Borgia organized the procession that escorted the body of the Empress to her tomb in the Royal Chapel of Granada, where she would be buried alongside the remains of the Catholic Monarchs. On the 18th, the coffin was uncovered before being placed in the sepulcher in order to confirm her identity once more. On seeing the decomposed face of the Empress whom the world had admired for her beauty, he said:

"I have brought the body of our Lady in strict custody from Toledo to Granada. That it is Her Majesty I cannot swear. I swear that her corpse was placed there."[11]

After the obsequies, tradition recalls that he remarked to a close acquaintance: "I will never again serve a lord who can die on me."[12]

In that same year, Charles V appointed him Viceroy of Catalonia, an office he performed with great efficiency.[13]

Entry into the Society of Jesus

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The Conversion of the Duke of Gandia, by José Moreno Carbonero (1884), Museo del Prado.

His true interests lay elsewhere, however. When his father died, the new Duke of Gandia withdrew to his native land and, with his family, led a life devoted purely to the faith. Around that time he came into contact with some of the first Jesuits: Fathers Peter Faber and Araoz. Thus his desire to help financially the order founded by Ignatius of Loyola matured, above all after making the Spiritual Exercises. He was a great benefactor of the Roman College and founded the University of Gandia, the first to admit lay students.

His wife Leonor de Castro died on March 27, 1546, at the Monastery of San Jerónimo de Cotalba, near Gandia, and in June of that same year Francis decided to enter the Society of Jesus.[14] He settled his worldly affairs, renounced his titles in favor of his firstborn son, Carlos, and was immediately offered the title of cardinal. He refused it, preferring the life of an itinerant preacher. In 1554 he became the commissary general of the Jesuits in Spain and, in 1565, upon the death of Father Laínez, Father General of the entire order.

Acts of his generalate

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Autograph (signature) of Saint Francis Borgia (Francisco de Borja y Aragón), 4th Duke of Gandia, as General of the Society of Jesus.

The 2nd General Congregation of the Jesuits favored his election owing to the enormous prestige of the former Duke of Gandia. The man elected revised the rules of the order and, under the influence of the practices of certain Spanish Jesuits, fixed the time devoted to prayer: one hour daily, in the morning (Ignatius had not established that norm, leaving each member of the Society to decide on the matter). Francis Borgia saw to it that each Jesuit province had its own novitiate: he personally founded the Novitiate of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale, in which Saint Stanislaus Kostka, the Polish preacher Piotr Skarga and the future Father General Claudio Acquaviva were formed.

One of the most delicate tasks of this government was negotiating with Pope Pius V, who wished to reintroduce the sung office (or choral prayer) into the Society. In fact, this measure began in May 1569, but only in the professed houses and without interfering with other tasks. Paul IV had already attempted it in a generalized way for eleven months between 1558 and his death, which his successor and enemy, the intervening Pope Pius IV, had extended. Pius V also ordered that no candidate for the priesthood of any Order could be ordained until after his profession; this caused great problems for the Society. For this reason, all Jesuits had to profess three solemn vows until Gregory XIII (in December 1572) restored the original practice, as it stood in the Constitutions written by Saint Ignatius.[citation needed] His secretary was Juan Alfonso de Polanco, who had been the secretary of the two previous superiors general.

The Colleges prospered: from 50 in 1556 they grew to 163 in 1574. Borgia promulgated the first Ratio Studiorum in 1569. For his government he relied on Visitors. The remodeling of the Church of the Gesù in Rome was begun. In general, he followed very closely the course of the Counter-Reformation in Germany. Many Jesuit foundations served to strengthen the Catholic cause.

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Death mask of Francis Borgia

He also gave great impetus to the missions. A missionary expedition sent by him to Brazil was exterminated by Protestants on the high seas (Inácio de Azevedo and his companion martyrs, June 5, 1570).

Francis Borgia received special commissions from His Holiness, as had Laínez. On a journey to Portugal and Spain — despite his ailments — he was received with great honors. He attended to business of the Society and to delicate diplomatic commissions at the courts of both countries. The return to Rome was painful; he reached the Eternal City beyond hope of recovery. He died at midnight on September 30, 1572, saying: "I want only my Lord Jesus Christ." Pope Urban VIII beatified him in 1624.

His legacy

His decision regarding prayer altered the Ignatian conception on the matter, until in the 20th century the original practice was returned to. He put into practice the resolution of the Second General Congregation to convene the Congregations of Procurators, which proved to be a very sound measure. Under his administration the missionary work increased and prospered. The Society founded new missions in Florida, Mexico (then New Spain) and Peru. The penetration into Brazil increased. He suggested to Pius V the creation of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.[citation needed]

Francis Borgia was canonized in 1671 by Pope Clement X. That is, a century after his death and much later than the first Jesuit saints, Ignatius and Francis Xavier (1622).

His liturgical memorial is celebrated on October 3 in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Before the liturgical reform of Paul VI, it was celebrated on October 10.[15]

Patronages

Patron saint in Spain: of the nobility, of falconry and of the cities of Gandia, Valencia and Bonares.

In Peru: of the Province of Yunguyo.

In Colombia: protector and patron of the city of Medellín, in the affliction of earthquakes, tremors, squalls and storms.

In Brazil: patron of the municipality of São Borja, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Musician and composer

Monument to Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandia, in his hometown

Little known is the passion the saint always felt for music and his place as a composer.

Experts, such as the composer and rector of the Valencian Academy of Music, Bernardo Adam Ferrero, state that: "His contribution to the world of music is little known, but he was undoubtedly a very relevant author in 16th-century music."

Adam Ferrero highlights Saint Francis Borgia's contribution to "polychorality," a concept he began to practice even before Juan Bautista Comes, the composer to whom this innovation is generally attributed.

The best-known work attributed to him is "Visitatio sepulchri," a liturgical drama written in 1551, which depicts the episodes of the Burial and Resurrection of Christ.

Likewise, he is considered to have written some other religious compositions that have had less renown, but which are also regarded by specialists as excellent.

Ancestry

Descendants

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Coat of arms of the Duchy of Gandia of the Borja or Borgia.

Ancestor of European royal houses

Francis Borgia is an ancestor of several royal houses of Europe as the forebear of Luisa de Guzmán, queen consort (1640–1656) and Regent of Portugal, wife of King John IV.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Siervas de los Corazones Traspasados de Jesús y María, San Francisco de Borja S.J.
  2. ↑ Francisco de Borja, San (1510-1572)
  3. ↑ Salazar y Acha 2011, p. 16.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Salazar y Acha 2010, p. 16.
  5. ↑ Llin Cháfer, Arturo. "Biografía de Gaspar Lax" (in español). Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  6. ↑ Sebastián Lozano 2011, p. 67.
  7. ↑ Batllori, Miguel (1999). La familia de los Borjas (in español). 310 páginas. Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia. pp. 71–72. ISBN 978-84-89512-34-4. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  8. ↑ Sebastián Lozano 2011, p. 69.
  9. ↑ Pedro Miguel Lamet S.J., Duque y jesuita. p. 63. Editorial Mensajero. Bilbao, 2014
  10. ↑ López Melús, Justo (2000). "Francisco de Borja". In Leonardi, C.; Riccardi, A.; Zarri, G (eds.). Diccionario de los Santos (in español). Madrid: San Pablo. pp. 833–836. ISBN 84-285-2258-8. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  11. ↑ Pedro Miguel Lamet S.J., Duque y jesuita. p. 93. Editorial Mensajero. Bilbao, 2014.
  12. ↑ Ibid.
  13. ↑ Sebastián Lozano 2011, p. 70.
  14. ↑ Sebastián Lozano 2011, p. 71.
  15. ↑ "San Francisco de Borja, religioso presbítero". El Testigo Fiel (in español). Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Soler y Salcedo 2008, p. 231.

Bibliography

  • Lamet, Pedro Miguel S.J. (2014) Duque y jesuita. Editorial Mensajero. Bilbao. ISBN 978-84-271-4425-5
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