An abridgement of the life of S. Francis Xaverius of the Society of Iesus, new apostle of India and Japony together with some few of the innumerable authentical miracles wrought by him of late years / by W.B.

Two Miraculous cures approued for such by the most Illustrious Archbishop of Mechlin.

The I. Cure of madnes.

IOhn Gommarts, son of Iohn Gommarts Butcher and of Sara Disson, being eighteen years old, was aflicted with •• strange and Frenetick malady in the week of All Saints, which lasted till Christmas, ex∣cept that for the space of eight daies he was a litle better, but yet so as he did not return to himself, and recouer the vse of his senses. After these eight daies, the yong man was trans∣ported with such a furious madnes, that two or three strong and lusty men were not able to hold him, so that his mother was constraind to ty him to his bed hands and feet, with cords and chains of iron. As he was thus straitly tyed, he oftentimes cried out so hide∣ously, and sufferd such strange conuulsions, that all were moued to pity and compassion, who saw him in this sad condition without being able to afford him any kind of succour. His mother deepely afflicted hereat, vsed the vt∣most of her endeauors, and sought all means imaginable to asswage, or in some maner to le∣nify the cruel malady of her son, but all re∣medies were to no purpose. In these sad cir∣cumstances the Physitian seing himself not able to help the poor miserable creature, counseld his mother to implore the aid of heauen, which

she did diuers times, but without any appea∣rance of amendment, as also by the counsel o•• another person, she caused, but without succes•• the sick party to be exorcised by Mr. Andrew Berckmans, and Mr. Ambrose Lache both of them Priests, the later whereof counseld her to in∣uoke the assistance of S. Xauerius, and with confidence to adress herself to his Relicks, which are kept in the Church of the Fathers of the Society of IESVS, whereupon she made a vow to communicate, for her life, vpon the Saint's-day, and promisd to procure a mass to be said the next day, and to burn a candle in his honor. In pursuit then of her promis she came to the Church of the Fathers of the So∣ciety, & entring into the chappel of our Lady, she instantly cast her eyes vpon a picture, which hangs neer the place where the Relicks of S. Xauerius are kept, and lifting vp her heart to this great Saint, and fixing her thoughts vpon him, she conceiued at the same time a confi∣dent hope, that he who had wrought so many miracles represented in the Table before her, would also haue pity vpon her, and her son. A litle after this she procured a Mass to be said by a Secular Preist in honor of the Saint, hoping to obtain of him by this means some signal fauor, and some comfort for her sick son. In time of the Holy sacrifice, she felt in∣teriourly an extraordinary tranquillity and an vnwonted ioy, and said within her heart, O Blessed Lord, will my son be cur'd then, seing that I find my self at such ease and quiet? And her hope, which deserued not to be frustrated,

••••d immediately its effect; for after Mass re∣••••rning home, she was no sooner entered into ••r house, but she found there her son, but ••••en now despaired of, in perfect health, and ••holly cur'd of his madnes, who said vnto ••••er as she came in, Dear mother, I pray giue me ••••me thing to eat for I am almost pin'd, whereupon ••holly transported with joy she gaue him some ••roth together with a wing of the hen with ••hich it was made, which he are with a good ••ppetit, whereat she was much astonished, for ••hat during his infirmity he had eaten as good ••s nothing, and in very deed for fiue or six ••aies he had not so much as tasted any kind ••f food. Moreouer after he had well eaten, he ••esought his mother that she would be plea∣••ed to loose him, for that, as he said, he was ••ot able to endure that torment, and that he ••hould dy if they did not vnty his hands and ••eet, which was instantly done, and half an hour after he clothed himself without any one to help him, and sat him down by the fire∣side, where he are again, and discoursed with his mother without any signe or token of frensy, and afterwards at night he went to bed and slept quietly without euer waking, from seuen and a half at night, vntill six and a half next morning.

Behold how Iohn Gommarts in the time of a Mass recouered his health and the vse of reason, to the astonishment of all his neigh∣bors, and particularly of the Physitian, who left him in the morning in a sad condition, and found him after dinner perfectly cured, in such

sort, that the second day after his cure, pe••¦fectly restor'd to his senses, he went to Churc•• to giue thanks to God for the great benefit and signal fauors, which he had receiued from his merciful goodnes through the intercessio•• of Saint Xauerius.

The second cure of blindnes.

ANNE van Bael, natiue of An∣werp, being seuenteen year•• old; she had been aflicted for the space of ten years, with a defluxion which fell vpon her left eye, the euil whereof growing euery day worse and worse, after three year•• she wholly lost the vse of her eye. This first accident was accompanied with another yet more dangerous, for so much as that her right eye was couered with two whites, in such sort, that hauing lost the sight of her left eye, and not being able with her right to en∣dure the light, she became hereby wholly blinde. Her aunt Mary Bernaerts moued with compassion towards her, vsed the vtmost of her power to finde out some means to reme∣dy and cure her niece, but finding none in the art of Physitians, she put all her confidence in the profuse bounty of S. Xauerius: for when she had vnderstood at Anwerp of her Aunt Elizabeth Bernaerts, that he was greatly ho∣nored in the Church of the Society of IESƲS at Mechlin, & that through his assistance many were freed from long and troublesom diseases,

••he persuaded her Niece to go thither. So that ••t her persuasion she forthwith went thither, ••nd lodged at her aunt Elizabeths house, that ••he might more commodiously honor & visit ••he Relicks of the Saint: and to the end that ••he might obtain her sight by his merits, she promised after her cure to get a solemn Mass to be sung, and to burn three wax-candels, moreouer she made a purpose to hear Mass nine daies together in his honor, beginning from the fourth of March and continuing to the twelfth. Vpon the fourth day of her De∣uotion she actually experienced, that her con∣fidence in the merits of the glorious Xauerius was not in vain, for as much as that then she began with her left eye to see the beams of the sun, and in the nine daies, the two whites which obscured her right eye, so loosed them∣selues that she was able to see all kinds of ob∣jects. According to the measure of her reco∣uery she redoubled her confidence, and the fer∣uor of her Deuotions, in effect, she added to her first Nouena a second, during which her sight was so perfectly restored, that she was able to make bone-lace, and to read any print though neuer so small.

The Approbation of my Lord the most Illustrious Archbishop.

ANDREW by the grace of God and of the Sea Apostolick Archbishop of Mechlin &c. To all those who shall read these pre∣sents health in our Lord. For as much as we

haue approued a while ago the Relicks of th•• right arm of S. Francis Xauerius, and haue iud¦ged it expedient that they should be publickl•• exposed, to the end that they might be hono¦red by all the world, and the seruice of Go•• might be encreased by the glory of his Saints & seing that after this legal & solemn exposi¦tion had been made in the Church of the Reuerend fathers of the Society of IESVS of the College and Nouitiate at Mechlin these Relicks haue been so very much hono∣red, as well by the Burgers of this City, as by the inhabitants round about, that the diuine goodnes which has manifested the glory of his seruant in diuers parts of the world by an infinity of miracles, has made appear, by di∣uers sudden cures and recoueries, that this deuotion of the faithful was very pleasing to him, we seeking nothing more earnestly then the honor of God in his Saints, his true mo∣dels, we designed of our Canonical Chapter our Reuerend brethren Dismas Corten & Fran∣cis Vanden Driessche Archpriest, Licentiates in the law, and Canons, to inform themselues exactly, according to custom and the ordina∣tions of the Holy Councel of Trent, of all that had been reported concerning certain mi∣raculous cures, which hauing been well exa∣mined, and tried by Phisitians and lawful wit∣nesses, obseruing the form of proceeding in like occasions and Approbation of miracles: It is assuredly true that Iohn Gommarts of eigh∣teen years of age, was sundenly and perfectly cur'd of a dangerous and cruel Frensy, whilst

that his mother Sara Disson made her suppli∣cation and praiers for the health of her son before the Relicks of S. Fr••ncis Xauerius.

Also that Anne van Bael of seuenteen years of age, whilst she performed her Deuotions before the same Relicks, was so absolutely cured of a certain malady in her eyes, that she has perfectly recouered the vse of them, whereas for three years before she had been blinde of her left eye, and her right was dimmed by two white spots: we, with the Counsel and Approbation of certain honorable persons, haue declared in the name of God, that these two cures, of Iohn Gommarts, and of Anne van Bael, as appeared by the precedent infor∣mations, were supernatural and miraculous, & that they may be attributed to the intercession of S. Francis Xauerius, & we haue also declared at this very instant, that we our selues haue had three stones happily cut from vs, the success whereof we had recommended with great con∣fidence to this glorious Saint, and we approue the same by these presents, exhorting all the faithful to reuerence these Relicks, to the end that by the mediation of S. Francis Xauerius they may be worthy to be cured of all sorts of infirmities both of body and minde.

Giuen at Bruxelles in our Archiepiscopal Pallace, vnder our signe and seal, the tenth of May, 1660.

Was subscribed ANDREW Archbishop of Mechlin.

And sealed with his own Great seal with red wax, as appeares by the Original.

Notes

• An. Dom. 1659. De∣cem. 30.
• An. Dom. 1660. March. 11.