Francis Borgia | |
|---|---|
 Painting byAlonso Cano, 1624 | |
| Duke of Gandía Confessor Priest | |
| Born | 28 October 1510 Duchy of Gandia,Kingdom of Valencia,Spain |
| Died | 30 September 1572 (aged 61) Rome,Papal States |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 23 November 1624,Madrid,Kingdom of Spain byPope Urban VIII |
| Canonized | 20 June 1670,Rome byPope Clement X |
| Majorshrine | Relicstranslated to the Jesuit church inMadrid, 1901 |
| Feast | 30 September 10 October (1688–1969) 3 October (Jesuits)[1] |
| Attributes | Skull crowned with an emperor's diadem |
| Patronage | Againstearthquakes;Portugal;Gandía;Rota,Marianas |
Francis Borgia,SJ (Valencian:Francesc de Borja;Spanish:Francisco de Borja; 28 October 1510 – 30 September 1572) was a SpanishJesuit priest. The great-grandson of bothPope Alexander VI and KingFerdinand II of Aragon, he wasDuke of Gandía and agrandee of Spain. After the death of his wife, Borgia renounced his titles and became apriest in the Society of Jesus, later serving as its thirdsuperior general. He wascanonized on 20 June 1670 byPope Clement X.
He was born in the Duchy of Gandía inthe Kingdom of Valencia (part ofCrown of Aragon), on 28 October 1510. His father wasJuan Borgia, 3rdDuke of Gandía, the son ofGiovanni Borgia, the son ofPope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia). His mother was Juana, daughter ofAlonso de Aragón,Archbishop of Zaragoza, who, in turn, was the illegitimate son of KingFerdinand II of Aragon.[2] His brother,Tomás de Borja y Castro, also entered the Church, becomingBishop of Málaga, and later Archbishop of Zaragoza.
As a child he was very pious and wished to become a monk, but his family sent him instead to serve in the court of his second cousinCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor (who was alsoKing Charles I of Spain), where he was welcomed warmly.[2] He excelled there, accompanying the Emperor on several campaigns.
InMadrid in the month of September 1529, he married a Portuguese noblewoman,Leonor de Castro Mello y Meneses. They had eight children: Carlos in 1530, Isabel in 1532, Juan in 1533, Álvaro circa 1535, Juana also circa 1535, Fernando in 1537, Dorotea in 1538, and Alfonso in 1539.[citation needed]
Upon Borgia's marriage, Charles V appointed him Marquess of Lombay, master of the hounds, and equerry to the empress.[2] In 1539, he convoyed the corpse ofIsabella of Portugal,Philip II of Spain's mother, to her burial place inGranada. In that same year, he becameViceroy of Catalonia, replacingFadrique de Portugal y Noroña.
During this period of his life, Borgia composedliturgical music, which the 1913Catholic Encyclopedia praises for itscontrapuntal style.[2]
In 1543, Borgia's father died, and Borgia accordingly became the 4thDuke of Gandía.[3] His diplomatic abilities came into question after his failed attempt at arranging a marriage between Prince Philip of Spain and the Princess of Portugal, thus ending a hope of bringing these two countries together, and resulting in his retirement as duke, handing his title to his son, Carlos.[4] Borgia, now 33, retired to his native place and devoted himself to religious activities.
After the 1546 death of his wife Eleanor, Francis Borgia decided to enter the newly formedSociety of Jesus. He put his affairs in order, renouncing his titles in favour of his eldest son Carlos de Borja-Aragon y de Castro-Melo, and entered the order by 1550. On 25 May 1551, Borgia was ordained a Jesuit priest.[5]
Borgia helped in the establishment of what is now the Gregorian University in Rome.[6] Upon Borgia's return from a journey to Peru, Pope Julius III made known his intention to make him a cardinal.[4] To prevent this, Borgia decided, in agreement withIgnatius of Loyola, to leave the city secretly and go to theBasque Country.[7]
In 1554, Borgia became the Jesuit commissary-general in Spain,[5] where he founded a dozen colleges.[6] After the death in January 1565 ofDiego Laynez, Borgia was elected the thirdSuperior General of the Society of Jesus.
Borgia went on to found theCollegium Romanum and closely supervised all the affairs of the rapidly growing order until his death in 1572.[6]
Francis Borgia died on 30 September 1572, in Rome. His body was repatriated to Spain in 1617;Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma financed the construction of a Jesuit professed house inMadrid north ofPlaza Mayor where the body might be kept, and it was relocated there in 1627.[8][9]
On 30 July 1901, the silver urn containing Borgia's relics was transferred to a church on Flor Baja street, which was dedicated to Sacred Heart and San Francis Borgia. This church was part of a new Jesuit residence established thanks to a donation fromManuel Álvarez de Toledo [es], and in 1911 the residence became a professed house.[10] After that church was destroyed by arson in 1931, some of Borgia's ashes were recovered and eventually reinterred in the new Jesuit complex oncalle de Serrano.[11]
Francis Borgia wasbeatified inMadrid on 23 November 1624, byPope Urban VIII. He wascanonized nearly 35 years later on 20 June 1670,[5] byPope Clement X. His liturgical feast was inserted into theGeneral Roman Calendar in 1688 for celebration on 10 October.[12]
Parishes are dedicated to Francis Borgia in locations including:
The Jesuit-founded city ofSão Borja, in southernBrazil, is named after Francis Borgia.[citation needed]St. Francis Borgia Regional High School is located inWashington, Missouri.[18]Marc-Antoine Charpentier composedMotet pour St François de Borgia (H.354, for 1 voice, 2 treble instruments, and continuo) in his honor in the late 1680s.[citation needed]
By his wife,Leonor de Castro Mello y Meneses, he had eight children, five sons and three daughters:[19]
| Ancestors of Francis Borgia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Superior General of the Society of Jesus 1565–1572 | Succeeded by |
