Hello and welcome to St. Stories for Kids, a weekly podcast full of fun stories and facts

about the holy men and women that have come before us.

I'm your host, Shantal Barrows.

St. Stories for Kids is brought to you by Shining Light Dolls.

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Today we'll be telling the story of St. Francis Xavier, whose feast is celebrated on December

3rd.

Francis was born on April 7th, 1506 in what is now present-day Spain.

He came from a very wealthy noble family and grew up in the family castle with at least

two brothers and two sisters.

At the age of six, war broke out and the family castle was invaded.

The war lasted for 18 years.

At age 19, Francis went on to study in Paris at the University of Paris where he stayed

for 11 years.

When Francis was 23, a new student came to the university, a man we know is St. Ignatius

of Loyola, and shared lodgings with Francis and his friend Pierre.

Ignatius was much older than the other students.

He was 38 at the time.

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