The Crab, The Cross and Saint Francis Xavier – miracle stories

THE CRAB, THE CROSS AND SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER

One of the miracle stories attributed to Saint Francis Xavier is how he got his cross back after losing it at sea. It was said that Francis Xavier was caught up in a storm as he was travelling to Malacca in the year 1546. With much faith, he threw his cross into the sea, asking God to make it an intrument to pacify the turbulent sea. God indeed came to his aid. The storm halted and the sea calmed down. But he lost his cross. According to the story, Francis Xavier, upon reaching the shores of Malacca, found a crab crawling towards him holding the missing cross in on of it’s claws. This story was so important that it was depicted on the altar at the canonization ceremony and was one of four miracles represented on the banner that decorated St. Peter Church on that occasion.