Francis Xavier was adorned in fine linen and velvet slippers. Rich garments that dripped luxury. He had 30 attendants that served his every need when he went to meet Oshindono – the prince of Nagate in Japan.

This is surprising when you know that Xavier was one of the first 7 Jesuits who took a lifelong vow of poverty. It is doubly surprising if you had seen him just a year back in India: where Xavier wore a ragged cloak.

So what made him throw away his vow of poverty and wear the finest clothes men could make? Why did he change in Japan?

The genesis of Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier was one of the first Christian missionaries to go to Asia. And one of the most successful too. He is known as the greatest missionary after Paul the Apostle. But he himself was not sold on religion when he was young.

Until he met Ignatius of Loyola. The person who founded the religious order of the Jesuits.

When Ignatius of Loyola convinced the Pope to allow him to set up the order of the Jesuits, Xavier was one of the 6 people with him. All 7 of them took a vow of poverty and chastity.

In the year 1540, King John of Portugal requested the Jesuits to go to India where Christian values amongst the Portuguese sailors and soldiers were eroding. Ignatius of Loyola appointed two missionaries: Bobadilla and Rodriguez. But at the last moment, when Bobadilla fell ill, he asked Xavier to go instead. That’s how Xavier became one of the first missionaries to go to Asia. His journey would take him to India and China and Japan and Indonesia.

Initially, Xavier only focused on preaching to the Portuguese soldiers and their kids in Goa. But slowly, when he came across the Paravas and other poor fishing communities, he started preaching to them as well. And he was quite successful. In a span of 3 years, he helped build 40 Churches which were funded from the growing community of poor Christians. 

When Xavier went to Japan, he felt that teaching to the poor won’t really work. The society and hierarchy was very rigid. The laymen didn’t do anything without the explicit approval of the Samurai and Noble class. The society in India afforded more freedom. In Japan, permission was crucial. And so, Xavier donned on luxury. And started preaching to the elites.

Xavier’s strategy was simple.

Dress like your audience

In India, he was accepted by the poor fishing communities as one of their own because he dressed in poor garbs. And similarly, in Japan, the Princes of various localities would agree to meet him, because he dressed in luxury.

This flexibility in behaviour is what allowed Xavier to become one of the most successful missionaries. Meet your audience where they are. In a way which they expect.

The whole strategy stemmed from the spiritual exercises he himself had done with Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius had read a book that taught an innovative meditation practice: De Vita Christi. One should meditate and try to place themselves at the scene of the Gospel story. Imagine you are at the stable where Jesus is born. Imagine you are in the audience when he is preaching. This imagination is what makes you feel the deep personal connection with the divine.

Xavier took this lesson one step ahead. He imagined himself as his audience. He put himself in their shoes. What did they require? What could Xavier do to deeply connect with them?

Walking in your audiences shoes

When Xavier first met Ignatius, he was not interested in religion. But the spiritual exercises made him reconsider his life’s direction. Xavier realized that his initial resistance was resolved only because the process was spiritual as well as intellectual.

To convince your mind completely, you need to tackle all 3 angles: spiritual, cognitive, and emotional.

This can be broken down into a triadic framework: the why, the what, and the how. The purpose, the knowledge, the process.

• Understand what is the problem
• Why are you the solution
• How can you connect

The problem with the fishing communities was that they were poor in a country where caste system was prevalent. The problem with Japan was that it was a feudal society engaged in a civil war. You had to tackle these problems in their own individual way.

That’s what Xavier did. Acted poor in India. And rich in Japan. His attire was not about poverty or luxury, but about emotional engagement. It was his way of thinking that helped him connect and persuade with whoever was in front of him. It was his ability to put himself in his audience’s shoes and imagine their problems and needs that made him successful.

Action Summary:

• Think like your audience. Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine their lives and problems and dreams and frustrations. Meet them where they are.

• And then use the what, why, how framework to persuade.