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“He baptized so many in India that his arm became virtually disabled, ten thousand in a single month in the kingdom of Trevancor”
.
A Story from His Life: Saint Francis Xavier and the Man with Two Mistresses.
“Francis, according to his usual method, sought the friend-
ship of a man in Malacca whom he hoped to turn from sin, a
nominally-Christian Chinese trader who kept two slaves
as concubines. Invited to dinner, Francis purposely de-
tained his host in animated conversation until a late hour,
when he asked whether he might be put up for the night.
Upon being shown to his room, he asked to be allowed to
see one of the women, who, when she went to him, found
him scourging himself with a chain. Holding out an-
other to her, he told her to scourge herself, unless she
wished to have him continue to do penance for her sins.
At this point the trader himself ran in and flung himself
in tears before Francis. The result was that one of the
women was married by the man, and the other, after
suitable provision had been made for her, dismissed.”
(from “The Odyssey of Francis Xavier,” by Theodore
Maynard [London: Longmans, Green and Co], pp. 177-8.)
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